Isamu "Sam" Aura of Kamloops passed away peacefully in Ridgeview Lodge on August 25, 2016, at 78 years of age, with his wife and family at his side. He is survived by his loving wife Marilyn, children Steven (Melanie) of Kamloops and Denise (Mike) of Victoria, grandchildren Owen and Hunter of Kamloops. Siblings Kimi Sugiyama of Burnaby, Sets (Terry) Sakaki of Kamloops, Mas (Tosh) Yakura of Vernon and Mary Aura of Kamloops and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his two brothers Bill (Mas) Aura and Johnny (Vera) Aura of Revelstoke.
Sam was born in Steveston, BC on October 10, 1937 to his parents Zentaro and Kiyono Aura. During World War II, Sam and his family was interned to East Lillooet. After the war, the family moved to Kamloops where Sam graduated from Kamloops Senior Secondary School in 1955. Sam married Marilyn on October 8, 1966 and they had two children. He was a devoted husband and father, and enjoyed taking the family on RV camping and fishing trips throughout the province.
In the early years Sam worked for the CN Express and later moved into the Optical field as an Optician with Kamloops Optical and more recently Ebata Eyecare Optometry. Sam was involved in many organizations such as, the Rotary Club and the KJCA. In addition to the RV camping and fishing, Sam loved to golf, curl, play hockey and softball. Sam was very active until his stroke in 2009.
One of Sam's sporting accomplishments was pitching for the championship baseball team, the Kamloops Mohawks, the team was inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
