Ray Akira Ishii, 84, of Poulsbo, Washington, died October 27, 2006 at Island Health and Rehabilitation Center on Bainbridge, where he was recuperating from brain surgery and more recently, a severe stroke to the brain.

Ray was born in Ogden, Utah on March 5, 1922. His early education was in Japan and then he returned to South Pasadena, California where he went to high school. He was relocated to a Japanese Internment Camp at Gila River in Arizona during the war. After leaving camp he relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where he married Michika Yamaoka whom he met in camp. They left Chicago in 1952 and settled in Culver City, California. Ray worked as a book binder in Los Angeles for 35 years. He was very active in the Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Church, Crescent Bay Optimist Club, and West Los Angeles Travel. He left Southern California in 2003 to be closer to his daughter and her husband.

Ray is survived by his wife of 60 years, Michika, of Poulsbo, and his daughter Jan, and her husband Steve Korn of Bainbridge. His son, Russell, preceded him in death in 2005.

Kitsap Sun, November 3, 2006