Firmin Shinichi Murakami

Shinichi Murakami, 95, passed away at home on Friday, March 31, 2023.

He was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1927, which was the same year that Charles Lindbergh succeeded in making his solo flight from Long Island to Paris. His parents were Ryuichi Murakami and Pearl Yaeko (Kiino) Murakami.

After Firmin's mother passed away in 1936 his father hired a succession of nannies to take care of him. Later Firmin's father asked Firmin's grandmother, Shige Kiino, to help take care of him.

In 1940 Firmin's father married Masako who was a Kibei, (a person born in the United States but educated in Japan). In 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and soon after that Firmin and his family were all sent to a concentration camp in Arkansas.

Firmin stayed in the camp for two years until he found a job in Michigan picking cherries in Traverse City when he was only sixteen years old. After that his aunt Ruth who lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, let him live with her so he wouldn't have to return to the concentration camp. Firmin skipped one year of High school but managed to graduate from Kalamazoo Central High School in June of 1945 and found work at Peter Pan Bakeries for 25 cents an hour.

After working for Peter Pan he found a higher paying job in Decatur Michigan that paid him 35 cents an hour.  After that he enrolled in Cleveland School of Art in Ohio but that didn't last long because he soon ran out of money.

His Uncle Ben rescued him by giving him a job in Los Angeles to help him with his gardening business.

Nine months had now passed by from the time that Firmin's draft notice was sent to him back in Michigan, and it didn't catch up with him until he reached Los Angeles. To avoid being a draft dodger, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. In Boot Camp he wrote letters for some of his buddies that couldn't write and he also did portraits for them whenever he found time. Firmin's math and technical test scores were good enough for him to be selected to be sent the newly developed electronic school just being set up in Great Lakes, Illinois, so he was sent there right after Boot Camp. After his tour of duty with the Marine Corps where he reached the rank of Sargent, he took advantage of the GI-Bill of WWII and graduated from Western Michigan University.
After college he Married a girl from Sturgis, Michigan, by the name of Alice Ann Gibson and had four children and eventually ended up in Alaska where he stayed for the rest of his life.
He and Alice divorced, and Firmin remained single for a very long time until he met his second wife, Gael, who he was still happily married to after twenty-eight years. Firmin is known for his portrait drawings of many friends and acquaintances. He was a member of the Fairbanks Watercolor Society and the AAUW. 

Firmin has his own gravesite next to his cabin in Clear, Alaska, where his ashes will be buried. A memorial celebration is planned for this summer.

In Fairbanks he is survived by his wife Gael and his son Larry. In Anchorage he is survived by son Dan Murakami and his wife, Kris. Their children are Kari, Julia, Daniel, Kendyl, Nikki, Rachel, Alex, and Stefan. Granddaughter Kari lives in Fairbanks with her husband, Matt Nations, and their four daughters Sierra, Savana, Katie, and Kaylana. In Seattle Firmin is survived by his daughter Kathy and her husband Billy Ledbetter and their children Christopher and Kara. In Illinois Firmin is survived by his son Michael Gibson Murakami his wife Alice who are parents to Noah, and Tim and Drew Gerhart and great granddaughter,
Lindsey.

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