Roy Toyama, 98

Roy Toyama, 98, passed away March 17, 2024, at home after a short illness. Roy was born Dec. 27, 1925, in Minot, N.D., to Tamaji and Chiyoko Toyama. His parents ran the US Café in Minot where Roy worked throughout his school years.

Roy was a World War II veteran. He joined the Army in June 1943. He was in the 442nd Infantry Regiment 100th Battalion. After basic training, Roy and his older brother, Tom, were selected to attend a Japanese language school at Fort Snelling. He was en route to the Pacific South Seas when the war ended. He was stationed in the Philippines and then sent to Japan, where he was discharged from the Army in June 1946. After the war, he worked for the U.S. government in the Military Intelligence Service in Tokyo, translating war documents. Roy returned to the US in 1950 to start college at the University of Minnesota.  After receiving his medical degree, he worked as a family physician for a couple of years before specializing in ophthalmology. Roy started the Coeur d’Alene Eye Clinic on July 5, 1966. He enjoyed his practice for many years and worked part-time into his 90s. The Coeur d’Alene Eye Clinic grew, adding many physicians and associates, and it is now the North Idaho Eye Institute. He enjoyed traveling with his family, fishing, golfing and retracing the journey of Lewis and Clark.

Roy was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Thomas of Eugene, Ore., William of Marshfield, Wis., and sister Jean Edberg of Auburn, Wash.

He is survived by his wife, Kate daughter, Sandy and husband, Randy Thompson of Kennewick, Wash., son Russell and wife Erica and grandchildren Ryan and Kori Toyama of Portland, Ore., and daughter, Summer and husband Joshua Branum of Liberty Lake, Wash.

Services will be held at the Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Road, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815, at 1 p.m. April 6. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Roy’s honor to the International Eye Institute www.eyegive.org at 8378 N. Government Way, Hayden, ID 83835.