Mr. Toshio "Chuck" Ishii

Long-time proprietor of Moneta Nursery, passed away peacefully at his home in Gardena on June 10, 2018, Age 87.  He is survived by his beloved children, Jody (John) Nakashima, Gary Ishii, and Lisa (Kevin) Brookman; granddaughters, Jessica Nakashima and Rachael Ishii; great-granddaughters, Brooklyn and Adeline Bahde; siblings, Chizuko Minami and Takeshi (Kathleen) Ishii; sister-in-law, Kinuko Yanagihara; also survived by many nieces and nephews here and in Hawaii.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Katherine S. Ishii - together they enjoyed a 54+ year marriage.

Private memorial services were held on Tuesday, June 26 at Green Hills Memorial Chapel with Pastor Nori Terashima of Rolling Hills Covenant Church officiating.

Who was Toshio "Chuck" Ishii?

There's a lot to say about, Toshio "Chuck" Ishii....this strong, tough, smart, generous, gregarious, determined man.

Reflecting on the stories and experiences he shared really has impacted who we are today. He told us a lot of stories, which we assume are true, but you know how stories change the more times they are retold!

Toshio was born at home on October 12, 1930 to Masakichi and Kaneko Ishii and raised at San Pedro's Terminal Island. This is where his father ran an albacore fishing boat that supplied the Starkist Tuna Cannery. He and his brother, Tak and sisters, Valerie and Chiz, used to swim in the harbor, back when it wasn't polluted.

He lived through want and adversity. During WW2, he told us how his father had the foresight to avoid the Japanese internment camps by moving the family to Utah, where they grew onions and sugar beets. Those were tough times. As an example, his mom would open one can of tuna, mix it with some chopped onion, mayonnaise, shoyu and rice to feed the entire family of 6. He told us of trudging through the snow for miles during the winter to get to school.

After the war ended, the family moved back to Southern CA, where they opened a little nursery in the city of Moneta, which later became Gardena, hence the name Moneta Nursery. More about the nursery later. He attended Gardena High, which was located at the current Peary Jr High School. We heard stories of how he was a bit of a hooligan during those early years. Wonder how he got the nickname "Chuck"? Since high school, people had trouble remembering his Japanese name so he picked out "Chuck" because it was short and easy to remember.

Toshio was very proud of his military service. Inducted in 1952, he was an Army interpreter in the Korean conflict. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured when a mortar round exploded near him out in the field. He loved to tell everyone about how he almost died. Remember the TV series MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital)? He actually was treated in a MASH unit. He would point out his scars where shrapnel was still lodged. He lost his right leg below the knee, but he barely had a limp when wearing his prosthesis.

After his recovery, he returned to the family nursery business. The family worked very hard there, saving as much money as possible. With that hard earned money, his father bought an apartment building in Boyle Heights (currently East Los Angeles). The story is that his father noted that there were five attractive young women from Hawaii living in one of their units. So his father sent Toshio to collect rent from the tenants. That's where he met his future wife, Katherine, one of the pretty young women. They were married on April 4, 1955.

He was a risk taker and rule breaker. One of the funny stories we heard happened during their honeymoon in Las Vegas where they rented a boat at Lake Mead to ride to the Hoover Dam. To prevent the boats from getting too close to the Dam drains, there were "Do Not Enter" warning buoys...well, he disregarded those signs, and boated right past them. He reported that Mom was so mad that she wanted a divorce! They did, however, stay married, having three children, Jody, Gary, and Lisa, until she passed away on November 27, 2009.

Family vacations were unforgettable. One year the whole family was in his beloved Cadillac, heading east on the I-10 freeway, just starting a road trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. There was traffic slowing all four lanes. As soon as there was a break, he gunned the engine to pull away in front of that log jam. A short time later, there was a Highway Patrol car with lights flashing, pulling him over. He tried talking the officer out of the ticket, but was unsuccessful. That was the first of two tickets during that trip.

Speaking of Las Vegas, Toshio liked gambling. He would go to the Gardena casinos to play poker every night, which he called his "second job." Then he would take many trips to Vegas and would always bring back gifts. One time he brought Gary a slot machine bank, with working reels and Gary took it apart to see how it worked. He was so mad at Gary at first, but Gary reassembled it and show him it still worked.

Another experience was while fishing in Hawaii with Gary and nephews Blaine and Casey. The four went bluefin tuna fishing one night. Blaine had a commercial fishing license so he could sell the fish at the fish market. It was dark with rough seas that night, and while fighting off sea sickness and hours of coming up empty, they finally had four fish biting at the same time. They hand-pulled the fish up to the boat as fast as they could to prevent the fish from becoming "burned." Blaine pulled out a hand gun to quickly kill the fish. Toshio said he wanted to do it. He took the pistol and fired, but Gary swears he shot the bottom of the boat. Luckily he didn't, but for the entire trip back to the dock, Gary thought that they were going to sink. Toshio was so happy when he bought an 18 foot skiff that he would take out fishing. Years later, he said that the happiest day in his life was when he sold the boat.

Regarding the nursery, he didn't have the luxury of a formal education, but he was a savvy business proprietor. He and his brother, Tak, built up Moneta Nursery over 50+ years. He always believed that the nursery was successful because of repeat customers. His key mottos: "The customer is always right" and "Treat them like how you want to be treated." His legacy today is carried on by Gary and nephew, Mike.

In February of this year, he was coughing up blood. After several tests, the diagnosis was lung cancer. He elected not to pursue extensive treatment and passed away peacefully at home on June 10, 2018.

We'll miss him very much, but we also know he's in a better place now. He's with Mom again in Heaven, which gives us great peace and joy.