Tone Shimizu died peacefully in hospice care on November 4, 2025, after suffering a stroke. Tone was born to Kameki Shimizu and Sotera Fernandez in Negros Oriental, Philippines on March 30, 1938. Tone moved with his family to Japan after the war. He grew up in Yokohama but remembers visiting the family home in Misumi. Tone was educated at St. Joseph International School and, after moving to the United States, went on to graduate from Seattle University. There, he met and married Bonnie Farrell, with whom he had two daughters, Maria and Jennifer. Later in life, Tone married Barbara Houston of Des Moines, WA.
Tone loved world travel, sports and geopolitics. He was a judo instructor and international referee. An outstanding soccer player, coach and referee, Tone led many veterans soccer teams to events around the world, playing into his late 70’s. Late in life, Tone embraced his Catholic faith and was a strong believer in Mary.
Tone is preceded in death by his father, Kameki Shimizu, his mother, Sotera Fernandez Shimizu, his brother, Celestino Noburu Shimizu, and his sisters, Teresa Smith, Corazon Becones, and Pilar Smith. He is survived by his wife, Barb Houston-Shimizu, sister Ida Lozares, former wife Bonnie Shimizu, children Maria Christensen and Jennifer Byrne, and grandchildren Kevin Christensen, Kasi Christensen, Cliona Byrne and Christian Byrne.
Funeral services will be held at St. Philomena Church in Des Moines, WA, on Tuesday, November 25 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at 2:00 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Kent (no obligation to attend). Memorials may be sent to the United States Judo Federation in support of the “Keiko Fukuda Judo Scholarship” endowment (PO Box 338, Ontario OR, 97914 or call the USJF National Office at 541-889-8753 if you prefer to contribute via credit card). May he rest in peace.