We Remember
NISHI, Tom
—
Passed away at Kelowna General Hospital on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 at the age of 75. He is survived by his brother Jim. Predeceased by his brother George and his parents. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a charity of your choice. If you wish to send a condolence, post photos or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area called “Share Your Condolences.”
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A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
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Service Details
The service for NISHI, Tom is scheduled for A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. . Below you will find the map for the service location and the contact information should you have any questions.
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always enjoyed talking with Tom at the cafe on hunter crt will miss him.
He will be missed
Was good friend of the Rampone family
Domenic and lina Rampone
(Son of Val rampone)
The character TOM will always be remembered by ourselves!
Pic taken by Monte Sandvoss
It was always so nice see Tom when he stop by the shop usually to say hi or trade something
I have know Tommie since the early 60’s. He offered our community his friendship. He was a mechanical handyman to many of the residence in the area.
Liz Borrett & family
I first met Tom in high school and later at Williams service and many lunch’s of Chinese food we’ll miss him and his own special sense of humor
Going to miss that truck driving all over town and seeing you at the favorite breakfast place. Your stories of great sledding days for trips past will never be forgotten. We have all lost a fine friend and your memory lives on in the Kelowna Snowmobile Club. You can finally put down those tools, uncle Tom.
always enjoy stopping and talking to Tom, he always made me laugh. The Loverin family are definitely going to miss Tom. Dean, Julie, Geordie and Kaiden
I worked with Tom and know all the parts guys and gals will miss him as much as me …..
sorry to hear about tom he was the best mechanic in Kelowna
You will be missed so much, what a great man
not to forget how many he helped,
Monte and Nancy Sandvoss
(Retired President of the Okanagan Antique Power Club)
I remember Tom being the “go to” guy for my dad Fred and the neighborhood when it came to fixing and tinkering with tractors and trucks. Will miss seeing him in his driving up Spiers Road.
Tom was an iconic figure in our East-South East kelowna neighbourhood. He was his own man,no airs, no pretensions. He was genuine, colourful, intelligent and possessed a rare measure of integrity. A gruff external demeanour belying a heart of softness that struggled to reply in the negative to a request.Regrettably, there are too few Tom Nishi’s. I will fondly recall Tom the mechanic who rescued me from my mechanical dilemmas, and Tom the person beneath that unique external appearance.
Tom T Turkey. Well it’s a sad day that you have moved on to pick mushrooms in the sky. You’ve been part of the neighborhood longer than me, many years working together, and you fixing our stuff. It’s hard to think that as I drive past you’re not up there behind those rows of cars, trucks, tractors and stuff. You had a name for everyone, Mr Douglas, Gunsmoke, Porkchop, Mr Haney. And behind your gruff exterior you always were helpful to those that didn’t demand it. For those that did, well, they’re probably still waiting. It was always entertaining to hear of your exploits, and I have fond memories of motor biking in the hills. I still never told anyone that you wiped out that time. I think I’ll miss you, you cantankerous chink
Young Carrot Top
Rest in peace Tom,Lordco staff will miss your visits.
Tom,
You were enigmatic and hilarious and a cool dude. I will miss you.
— Microwatt
Tom will be missed as a friend,if he wanted to go motor bike riding or snow sleding,and you didn’t have a machine ready,,he would laugh and say that’s OK I have a spare!!!He was one of a kind and that’s good ,talked rough,,but heart of gold,,,that was Tom!Rest in peace brother,,Your friends,,jim & gale Ritchie
Tom was someone we have known for many years as he met my mother and father when he was in his early twenties. Every night he would go down with my Dad to help clean the Laundromat my father owned in the Capri shopping centre. And then they would come back to the house for coffee. When we moved to Kelowna to live with my daughter we renewed our friendship and would put on the coffee when he would drop in.We’ll miss his unique personality and his humor.
We will certainly miss you Tom You were a very special friend to us & we appreciated all you did for us RIP We love you
Will miss you my good friend. From playing the viola together in the high school orchestra ( in the 50’s) to lunch at Ozekie’s in the last few years, you were always entertaining and a man of integrity. Enjoyed your friendship and will miss you greatly. Maybe a tough exterior, but beside kindness in the dictionary, should be a picture of Tom Nishi.
Tom was a great caring person,always full of stories, I served Tom in many restaurants in Kelowna always teased him about extra tomatoes as he hated them.Tom was a great mechanic to all and always short changed himself on labor.He will be missed greatly by all who knew him.Rest in peace my dear friend
So sad to hear of Tom’s passing.
He will be missed at that breakfast table in town. It will never be the same.
Tom, you had an amazing ability to gently but swiftly pick cherries, apples and pears, even using the girette that could carry 5 bags worth at one time. I think you held the record for number of bins in a day! You always entertained us at coffee time with your stories and your unique sense of humour. One of my favourite memories is of the time you were driving the tractor in the orchard and managed to put the forks through the door of my VW bug. Your reaction was hilarious! We will miss you and always remember you!
Remembering Tom as a great mechanic and a wonderful friend ~ Tom you will be missed
by all that knew you!
I knew Tom for over 20 years and was able to see him shortly before he passed. Tom was definitely a character, he used to stop by work for coffee on a regular basis. There was always lots of banter and joking, Tom would always appreciate the humour even if it was at his expense sometimes. Tom was a self taught mechanic, welder and jack of all trades. The times Tom did some work for me it was usually a bit of an argument to pay him more than he asked as he was always modest about charging people he knew. It is going to be sad knowing I will never run into Tom again at his favourite dining haunts. I hope Tom is somewhere where there is hundreds of tractors to tinker with, an endless supply of coffee and friends to share it with. Rest in peace Tom, you will be sadly missed by those who knew you.
I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing, we always joked about “hair loss” and he called me “China man” and I replied “Uncle” – they broke the mold when they made this man… he was a real character… will miss him.
Tom was part of our family. The picture Ive attatched is of Tom and my grandfather at the laundromat that my grandfather owned in the Capri Hotel. After collecting the coins they would go back to the house for a coffee with Grandma. Then when I married into the Stirling family my husband Mike referred to Tom as his Japanese brother.
When my kids were little we had a swear jar that you had to put $1 in if you were caught saying a swear word. The kids loved it when Tom came over cause they would collect so much money! He was indeed a colorful character!