Jun 16, 2022

Colorado ag leader Bob Sakata dies

Bob Sakata, founder of Sakata Farms and a leader in the vegetable industry, died June 7 at age 96.

Robert (Bob) Yoshiharu Sakata was born on April 15, 1926, in San Jose, California, to Aki Nishimura and Mantaro Sakata. His mother died of pneumonia leaving his father to raise 5-year-old Bob and 3 older siblings. Bob’s father farmed a small plot of land near Centerville, California, where Bob learned to love farming. Following the declaration of war against Japan, the United States government interned 120,000 Japanese Americans, including Bob and his family. As a teenager, Bob was sent to an internment camp in Topaz, Utah, in 1942.

With assistance from a former high school teacher vouching for his conduct and character, Bob garnered an early release from the internment camp by working on a dairy farm in Brighton, Colorado. Bob lived in the dairy barn, valuing the opportunity he was given. In 1944, the dairyman generously loaned him the money to purchase 40 acres of farmland in Brighton. This provided a way for his family to leave the internment camp and relocate to Colorado.

Bob graduated from Brighton High School and took a heavy coursework in math and science, which he knew would be valuable for modernizing agriculture. He played the drums and made life-long friends through various school activities.

Bob endured numerous hardships as a young man, including the untimely death of his father in a car accident, losing his brother to cancer, and a farming accident that burned 80% of his body. After a year in the hospital, Bob was never expected to walk again but through determination and his faith in God, he relearned to walk with the help of crutches and leg braces.

In 1955, Bob was nominated by the Brighton Jaycees for the Outstanding Young Farmers of America award. Out of 14,000 young farmers nominated, Bob was selected as one of only four national winners at a ceremony in Pittsburgh.

He met the love of his life, a local farmer’s daughter named Joanna Tokunaga, and they were married in 1956 at the original First Presbyterian Church in Brighton. Together, Bob and Joanna grew Sakata Farms from 40 acres to over 3,000 acres producing sweet corn, broccoli, cabbage, onions and beans. Bob’s innovation in seed development and packaging changed the sweet corn industry in the 1980s with the introduction of Sakata Farms Gourmet Sweet Corn.

Bob’s agricultural innovations garnered widespread recognition, including an appointment by President Richard Nixon to the Advisory Board of the Commodity Credit Corporation in 1973 and an invitation to the White House honoring American agriculture. Among the many accomplishments, Bob and Joanna were inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame, Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame, received the Colorado Proud Lifetime Achievement Award, hosted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, and in 2004 were given the honor of visiting them in their private residence at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Bob served on various boards and commissions, including the 27J School Board, First National Bank of Englewood, Bank One Corporation, Cooperative Extension Advisory Board at Colorado State University, Adams County Economic Development Board, Colorado Food Safety Task Force, National Federation of Beet Growers, National Onion Association Board, Japan American Society, and local irrigation ditch boards. A true patriot, Bob helped lead a national capital campaign to build the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism in Washington, D.C., and attended the unveiling in 2000. In 2021, he attended the grand opening of the Bob Sakata Education Campus located in Brighton.

But more importantly, Bob believed deeply in giving back. In 1959 he joined a small group of Brighton visionaries to help raise local funds to build the community’s very first hospital. He was proud that no federal funds were needed and served on its first Board of Trustees. He was an advocate for local health care and continued to support Platte Valley Medical Center throughout his life. He was a long-term member of the Brighton Rotary Club and participated in numerous civic activities. Bob was a member of Brighton First Presbyterian Church for more than 65 years, and served in a variety of capacities including elder, capital campaign chair and pastor search committee member.

Bob felt a deep gratitude to his employees and considered them family. His community of friends across the globe were diverse and he was thankful for them all. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and family and was a devoted husband. He was a man of many accomplishments, and his legacy of generosity, good humor, faith, and family will live on in all he touched. He often said it is “not how high up the ladder you get, but who you take with you.”

Bob is survived by his wife, son Robert (Julie Kerr), daughter Vicki, daughter Lani (Don Dolifka), grandchildren David Dolifka and Madison Dolifka, and his sister Mitsie. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Harry, and sister Fusie.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Platte Valley Medical Center Foundation, with a note in the memo line “in memory of Bob Sakata.” Checks can be mailed to: 1600 Prairie Center Parkway, Brighton, CO, 80601. Online donations can be made at www.sclhealth.org/locations/platte-valley-medical-center-foundation/donate.

A memorial service to celebrate Bob will be at 2 p.m. June 21 at Brighton Presbyterian Church. Out of respect for all attendees’ health, facemasks will be required for all attendees. We thank you for choosing the online service option if you have had a significant COVID-19 exposure or have any symptoms. The family appreciates your understanding in advance.

Immediately following the memorial service, Sakata Farms will be hosting an open house at 384 E. Bromley Lane in Brighton. There will be a link to view the memorial service live on the morning of June 21 at the bottom of the obituary page.

– Tabor Funeral Home and Cremation Services; Photo at top: Bob Sakata, right, with his wife Joanna and his son Robert Sakata. Photo courtesy of Sakata Farms.