Wayne Harry Koike's Obituary
Wayne Harry Koike
March 3, 1953 – August 20, 2024
Wayne Harry Koike was born on March 3, 1953 in Alameda, California to Yasuharu and Frances Koike. Wayne was fourth and youngest brother to Mark, Glenn, and Dean.
Because Wayne was born on the traditional Japanese holiday called “Girl’s Day”, Wayne’s parents were hopeful to finally have a baby girl they planned to name “Jane”. To their surprise, Wayne made his appearance instead.
Wayne grew up in Alameda and attended Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Porter School, and graduated from Alameda High School in 1971.
Some of Wayne’s childhood activities included becoming a Boy Scout, playing baseball for the East Bay Indians, playing on the church basketball team, learning judo, playing the trombone, and participating in football and track in high school.
Wayne attended Chico State University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1975. After graduation, Wayne worked as a manager at Sanwa Bank. In 1978, Wayne decided to go to Japan to pursue a degree in International Studies at Sophia University in Tokyo. To support himself, Wayne became a part-time English Conversation teacher as part of the International Friendship Center. Wayne returned to the U.S. in 1980 and worked for Sanwa Bank in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
After settling back in Northern California, Wayne held jobs at Atari, Health Net, and a few other HMO’s before becoming the CFO of California Pacific Medical Center Foundation until his retirement in 2013.
After meeting Frances Lew at a party, Wayne and Frances were married on July 6, 1985. Their daughter Michelle was born in 1988, and Melissa followed in 1990. Wayne was a devoted family man and fully supported all their daughter’s basketball and volleyball activities.
Family was extremely important to Wayne. Our extended family shared weekly Sunday dinners in Alameda until Wayne’s mother, Frances, passed away in 1996. To this day the family gathers for every birthday, holiday, or special occasion, and Wayne was always first in line for the food.
Wayne also enjoyed multiple trips to Hawaii with extended family members as well as cruising and traveling to China, Japan, Europe, and various cities in the U.S.
Wayne was a faithful churchgoer and served as church treasurer for many years at BVUMC. He organized the annual church golf tournament, helped to launch the church youth basketball program, took over as head chef for the annual church teriyaki chicken BBQ, spearheaded the church mochi-making New Year event, and served as a member of the church gardening team.
Wayne enjoyed playing golf with a group of friends called the “Whiners”. Although he never won a tournament, the life-long friendships he made with the group were the most important part for Wayne.
Wayne also picked up playing pickleball in recent years and enjoyed the fun and camaraderie of the game. Wayne was a big fan of the Giants, the A’s, the Warriors, and the 49ers, and enjoyed attending games whenever he could.
Wayne is survived by his wife, Frances Lew-Koike, daughter Michelle (Gabby), daughter Melissa (Chris), beloved grandchildren Joey, Emma, and Frankie, brothers Glenn (Terri), Dean (Lesley), cousins Jeani (Marcell), and Kenneth (Ran), as well as many loving extended family members and countless friends.
Wayne was a thoughtful and generous man of good humor with a strong faith in God, as well as a humble leader with a kind and loving spirit. He will always be a shining example to his family and friends and will forever be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to:
Frances Lew-Koike
753 29th Ave
San Francisco CA 94121
Donations will be made to the Lewy Body and Alzheimers’s Associations, via my daughter’s company who will do contribution matching.
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