Haruo Akiyama

Haruo “Harry” Akiyama, 92, of Kearney, Missouri, passed away on September 12, 2022 in Liberty, Missouri.

Harry was born on January 12,1930 in Kohala, Hawaii, one of eight children. He was raised in Hawaii, attended Lahainaluna boarding school in Maui and graduated from the University of Hawaii.

Following graduation, he served two years in the military at Hickam Air Force Base. He moved to Kansas City to begin his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a Federal Grain Inspector.

In Kansas City, he met and married Phyllis Weigel on October 10, 1963, and together they had five children, four daughters, Beverly, Nancy, Tracy and Lisa, and one son, Allen. Shortly after their marriage, he was transferred to Chicago, and then, in 1978, he was transferred back to Kansas City, where he eventually retired from government service in 1987. After his retirement, Harry worked for a time for Cooper’s Auto Body Repair and then later for Hallmark Cards.

Harry enjoyed gardening, was famous for his pansies and daffodils and eagerly shared his crops with friends and neighbors. He also enjoyed his vegetable garden and fruit trees as well as fishing and deer hunting in the fall. Harry was a faithful member of, and attended, Trinity Lutheran Church in Kearney, as he was able.

He was preceded in death by his siblings, Sakae Akiyama, Roy Akiyama, Masae Kawabe, Kenji and Masato Akiyama, and wife, Phyllis Ann Akiyama.

He is survived by daughters, Beverly Akiyama, Nancy Snider, her husband, Jerry, Tracy Walsh, her husband, Matt, and Lisa Akiyama; son, Allen; Preston Akiyama, of California; and Mitsue Kuwahara, of Hawaii.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 16, 2022, at Fry-Bross & Spidle Funeral Home, Kearney, Missouri. Visitation will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. September 16, also at Fry-Bross & Spidle Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers are suggested to Crossroads Hospice, Liberty Missouri.