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In memory of

Michael Keizo Sata

Berkeley, CA

July 8, 1948 - December 24, 2020

Jul 8, 1948 - Dec 24, 2020

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Michael Keizo Sata, 72, of Berkeley, California died unexpectedly on December 24th, 2020 from a heart attack. His loss was completely unexpected, as Michael was often seen shirtless and shoeless sprinting like a madman at various parks in Berkeley, lifting weights at the Y, or eating an inordinate amount of raw vegetables. Michael took great pride in his health and fitness and could be heard bragging about his high school waistline. He often said that he would live to be 110, and the family believed him. They are now shocked and deeply saddened.

Michael, or Mike, as he preferred to be called, was born on July 8th 1948 to Takashi and Tokiye Sata in Chicago, IL. After graduating from Lane Tech High School in 1966, he went on to study Physics at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Mike always did things his own way and never graduated, as he couldn’t be bothered to take one last semester of foreign language.

Mike started his career in software sales at Interlink and later went on to hold an array of technical sales jobs.

In 1977, Mike met Linda on a double date and they wed in 1980, going on to have 2 daughters, Jennifer and Nicole. Mike was deeply protective of his family and was a loving and dedicated father. He instilled in his children a strong work ethic and they went on to pursue careers in two of Mike’s greatest love’s – art and science.

Mike was an avid traveler and every year he took the family on a summer vacation. Their travels ended in such shenanigans as - almost driving everyone into a semi-truck in Alaska, seeing 5 Broadway shows in one week in New York, snorkeling in Hawaii, eating street tacos in Mexico, riding golf carts around Versailles in France, and scaling the wrong mountain side to see the 10,000 Buddha Monastery in Hong Kong.

Some of Mike’s hobbies were golf, chess, billiards, and snowboarding. Growing up, he could be found rain or shine out on the golf course with his Dad and 2 brothers Bob and Tom. He spent hours at the driving range with his own children and taught them chess and billiards, although these hobbies ultimately did not stick as well as their careers. Despite Mike’s self proclaimed terrible sense of balance and lack of any innate athletic ability, he went on to become a black diamond snowboarder.

Mike was also passionate about art, music, film, food, and nature. He spent much of his retirement organizing his 100 gigabytes of music on his iPod into curated playlists, meticulously cross referencing imdb and rotten tomato scores in order to add films to his must watch movie list and then watching most of them, enjoying copious amounts of time outdoors, bird watching and bathing in the warm California sun (for the vitamin d of course), and indulging in a burger from The Habit Burger, or finishing an entire plate of shrimp piled larger then his head at his favorite Chinese buffet.

Mike paid little heed to institutions or social norms. He lived his life the way that he wanted at what he called “the bleeding edge.” His eccentric, adventurous, and jovial personality enriched his family’s lives with the most colorful experiences that only someone who lived so fearlessly could create. Who now will bust out dance moves that they learned on the internet, give a 5-minute guided meditation as a wedding speech, or drag his daughter’s boyfriend to a yoga rave? Mike’s family and friends will miss him more than words can say.

Mike was predeceased by his parents, Takashi and Tokiye Sata, and his sister Nancy Sata. Mike is survived by his wife, Linda Sata, his daughters, Jennifer Van Horn (Bryce Van Horn) and Nicole Sata (David Mourra), his brothers Robert Sata and Thomas Sata (Deborah Nelson), his sister Janet Sata Brown, 4 grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

There will be a virtual celebration of life on Saturday, July 31st, 2021. A zoom link to the event will be sent out later. If you cannot attend the service, please consider sharing some of your memories of Mike here on this site under the memories section.

The family requests that no donations be sent. All flowers or notes can be sent to Linda Sata at 3809 Enos Ave. Oakland, CA 94619.

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