Moonray Kojima, 73
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Moonray Kojima, 73, of New York City died peacefully Thursday evening, Aug. 12, 2010, at his summer home in Williamstown after a long battle with cancer.
Born in California, he was the youngest of the four children of Masayoshi and Yoshiko Kojima, who had emigrated from Hiroshima, Japan, in the early 1920s. His family was living in Marysville, Calif., when World War II broke out and they were sent to the internment camps at Tule Lake and later to Minidoka, as mandated by Executive Order 9066. When the war ended, the family settled in Penryn, Calif., and he graduated from Placer High School as class president and from the University of California at Berkeley, from which he obtained degrees in electrical engineering. He earned his law degree from New York University Law School after joining the Global Patent Department of Western Electric Co. in New York.
A patent lawyer, Mr. Kojima established a solo practice, serving the patent needs of many Japanese firms. His early patent work included small household devices, filaments and the early technology for CAT and PET scans, developed by Yokogawa Electric Co., now under the umbrella of GE. He was always interested in helping young entrepreneurs to realize the American dream and he assisted many in starting small businesses, advising them on current practices and legal issues.
He loved to read, especially the works of V.S. Naipaul, to take long walks with his dog, Bogart, and to watch kendo, the art of Japanese swordsmanship. His greatest interest was in politics; knowing what had happened to his family in the racial hysteria during WWII, he saw political engagement as the route to real justice. The words "equal protection under the law" held strong meaning for him. He lost a bid for U.S. representative while living in the Upper West Side in the election that sent Bella Abzug to Congress. Gracious in defeat, he set about supporting other candidates in their quest for office.
It was during the campaign that he met his wife, Nancy Sheridan, and he followed her to Rome and courted her there. They married in St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York on June 27, 1970.
Mr. Kojima met his diagnosis of cancer in April 2008 with the same attitude that he had brought to every other challenge in life, said his family. He analyzed it, chose therapies he could manage on his own and he astonished many with his resilience and his refusal to relinquish control of his destiny. He succumbed quietly in the arms of one his daughters.
Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, the lights of his life, Penelope Kojima of New York and Kimberly Kojima of Williamstown; a sister, Chifumi Kojima of Sacramento, Calif.; a brother, Takasume Kojima and his wife, Katsuko, of Berkeley, and his sister-in-law Rumiko Kojima of Los Angeles.
He was predeceased by his brother Masamune Kojima.
FUNERAL NOTICE — Services for Mr. Kojima will be private and there will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested to the New York Kendo Foundation, which he helped establish, or to a charity of the donor's choice through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St. North Adams, MA 01247.
The family wishes to thank Dr. James Peterson and Williamstown Police Sgt. Scott McGowan for the kindness and dignity with which they handled Mr. Kojima's passing.