Wayne Yoshio Masunaga died July 20 after a short battle with cancer. He was 71.

Wayne was born on March 9, 1951 and grew up in Boyle Heights. He graduated from Roosevelt High School and continued his education at East Los Angeles College and Cal State Los Angeles, where he graduated with a degree in police science.

He was a police officer with LAPD for 30 years and spent the majority of his career in the Hollenbeck Division, where he patrolled Boyle Heights. He retired in 2007 and enjoyed 15 years of retirement. He was a loving husband, father, brother, cousin and uncle.

Wayne is survived by his wife, Lynn; daughter, Samantha; sisters, Elaine (Michael) Shikuma, and Janet (Robert Kuwahara) Masunaga; sister-in-law, Rachel Ruiz; aunt, Ruth Shinto; cousins, Gordon (Clare) Kodama; Marilyn (Charles) Braun; Barbara (Terry) Wong; Jimmy (Diane) Shinto; and Pam (Tim Schenkelberg) Shinto; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Mark and Fumiye Masunaga; and brother, Don Akira Masunaga.

A private funeral service was held August 12 at Fukui Mortuary in Los Angeles.