Despite his lifelong pulmonary disease, Mr. Oka was an active golfer and softball player and officiated at high school basketball games.

He was playing golf in Gilroy with his friends October 14 when he fell ill. He quit after three holes and went home, where he put himself on a breathing machine. Early the next morning, Mr. Oka had a serious asthma attack. He was rushed to St. Louise Hospital in Morgan Hill and never regained consciousness, said his father, Harry Oka of South Pasadena. He died early October 20. Word of his death quickly spread at his workplace, where Mr. Oka was well liked.

''He once said that in our business, you knew two weeks after getting out of school that you'd never be rich," said Norm Hindsley, a co-worker. "He said if you don't get your reward from working with patients, you're in the wrong profession. He loved his job."

Despite his asthma, Mr. Oka was so low-key that many didn't know he had it, Hindsley said.

''He was a master of understatement," Hindsley said. "And I'd say he probably had the best sense of humor of anyone I've ever met. One of us would say something and Tom would say, 'Hey, guys. I'll handle the jokes, OK?' "

Not that Mr. Oka was a performer. He shunned the spotlight and kept out of office politics that could have advanced his career, preferring to work directly with patients. They loved him for it.

''He could relate to the patients," Hindsley said. "That's what endeared him to them. Sometimes in this profession you lose a patient. That's always hard. I could tell when Tom was upset about the death of a patient. He'd just go off by himself."

Mr. Oka's bedside manner did not go unnoticed. By the end of the week, former patients learned of his death and called the hospital to express their sympathy.

Mr. Oka was born May 1, 1954, in South Pasadena, the youngest of two children and only son of Harry and Fukiko Oka. From birth, he had allergies and asthma. Maybe because he couldn't be as active as he wanted, Mr. Oka was an avid sports fan. He loved to referee high school sports and play golf and participate in desk-league baseball.

His asthma was frightening at times, said his father. He had two life- threatening attacks when he was a teen-ager but made it to the hospital in time.

Mr. Oka attended the University of California, Berkeley briefly, then Sonoma State University. Then he discovered the field of respiratory therapy and transferred to Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. There he earned an associate of science degree and respiratory therapy certificate in 1977. A respiratory therapist helps patients with breathing problems and operates respirators.

One of the reasons he decided not to return to Southern California was the smog, his father said. He worked at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose for 17 years. He saw his parents last in August, during a fishing trip near Lake Tahoe.

Mr. Oka was married briefly but had no children. He lived in Morgan Hill with his dog, Mojo. Despite his age, his parents worried about him. That's why they were so happy when his friends at O'Connor held a memorial service there Thursday night.

''The chapel was packed," his father said. "It made us feel good. We felt better when we realized he had so many friends."

San Jose Mercury News, October 26, 1993