Edwin Yoshito Mitoma , 88, a retired electrical engineer, spent most of his career with the Aerospace Corporation. He and his wife, Eiko Sakurai Mitoma, raised their family in Kensington , Maryland , Riverside , California , and Rancho Palos Verdes , California . He was an active member of the Washington , D.C. , Riverside , and South Bay Chapters of the JACL, where for many years he edited the South Bay JACL Newsletter.

Ed's volunteer activities also included the Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California, the Nikkei International Association, the Advisory Committee of the Palos Verdes Center Library, editor of the Aerospace Retirees' Club newsletter, and the Palos Verdes Amateur Radio Club.

Ed was born in 1923 in Oakland , California . He attended public schools in Oakland and Alameda . During World War II, he and his family were incarcerated at Tule Lake Relocation Center in California . Ed earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1947. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in various military positions in the defense sector before joining the Aerospace Corporation in 1967, where he worked for 25 years before retiring in 1992.

Ed died peacefully at his home on July 8, 2012. A memorial service was held on July 14, 2012. Survivors include Ed's wife, Eiko; his daughters Carolyn Mishima (son-in-law Yasuo) of Fukuoka , Japan , and Jeanne Kobayashi (son-in-law Craig) of Seattle , Washington ; and three grandchildren, Lisa, Ryo and Yukari Mishima.