Toshiro Shiba

Toshiro "Tosh" Shiba was known as being tough as nails, and he was so stubborn he persevered until the age of 92! He had a huge generous heart, and that eventually bested him in the end on July 22nd. Besides being the youngest of six children he defied the stereotype assigned to Japanese in the post World War era and was bold and outspoken, speaking up for what was right. His five children weren’t always appreciative of his endeavor to ensure they worked hard, but they can finally agree it was all done for his love for them.

Tosh was born in Clinton, Utah in 1932. The post depression era honed his ‘saving everything mentality’ and he instilled that in his children’s mindset, much to the chagrin of their spouses. He attended schools in Roy and one year at Weber College before transferring to the University of Utah. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Mechanical Engineering and was quickly recruited. He worked for Hughes Aircraft for four years in sunny SoCal; passing time playing poker with friends and driving cool cars. He was lured back to Utah to help with his family’s farm which had moved from Roy to the small town of Lehi in Utah County. The Lehi farm grew wheat, feed corn and alfalfa, and also raised beef cattle.

In 1966 Tosh married the love of his life, Jean Okuda with whom he had five children Steve (Vanessa), Karen, Christie Rose (Ken), Tom (Trudy) and Mike (Corinne). Their hearts shattered not once but twice with the passing of Karen and then Mike.

Meticulous, incredibly intelligent, precise, organized and kind were just a few words to describe Tosh. He was a genius at math and confounded that his kids weren’t as proficient when he had to tutor them and they usually ended up crying. He also had an obsession with Excel spreadsheets and labeling everything from the light switches to door handles. His passions in life were fishing, gardening, woodworking and tinkering around in his shop.

His family will miss his lengthy and profoundly intuitive discussions. He has been the patriarch of his big and loving family and was married to Jean for 59 years. He was so proud of his grandchildren Sami, Allison, Arissa, Audrie, Seiji (Kylie), Madi Holmes (Bailey) and his greats Warden and Aiko Shiba. They recall fondly that he had a jar of Milky candies always on hand for them.

Tosh’s viewing will be on Monday, August 4th from 12:30-2:00 pm with a service at 2:00 pm at Larkin Gardens (1950 E 10600 S Sandy, UT 84092).