Thomas Tomio Seto

Thomas Tomio Seto, 98, born on October 8, 1921, in San Bernardino, CA, passed away April 2, 2020. He resided in Palm Desert, CA at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Coachella, California.


Thomas (Tom) Seto was born on October 8, 1921, in San Bernardino, California. He was the third child in a family of five children: Masao (born in 1914), Misao (1919), Thomas (1921), Yoshiye (1924), and George (1926). A sixth child, Ruth, was born in 1917, but died at a young age. Tom's parents, Takezo Seto and Fujino Shioji, were immigrants (Isei) from Japan, spoke only Japanese, and moved to the United States in the early 1900's.

Tom grew up in San Bernardino where his family farmed sweet potatoes with the Sadaki Sakamoto family. Sadaki was Takezo's blood brother who was adopted by the Sakamoto's when he was young, because they had no male children. While in San Bernardino, Tom skipped the 3rd grade and attended three different grammar schools when they moved to different parts of San Bernardino.

In 1934, Tom was sent to Haiiki in Kiushu, Japan to finish the 7th grade. His cousins, Haru and Shizu, went with him on this 2 week boat trip and were escorted by a family friend. They were tutored by Uasa, who came into the home of Takezo's brother, Masahiko Seto, for their lessons. His mom went to Japan to bring him back and he returned to the United States in 1936.

Upon returning to the States, Tom attended junior high school and skipped the 8th grade. The following year he attended San Bernardino High School. When the family moved to Perris, California in 1938, he enrolled as a student at Perris High School. He graduated in 1940 as valedictorian of his class. His parents never went to any school functions, but they did attend his high school graduation.

Due to their Japanese heritage, the Seto's were forced to relocate to the Poston, Arizona internment camp, during World War II, from 1942-1945. Because he could drive, Tom volunteered to be a truck driver to go into Parker, Arizona three times a day to bring supplies back to camp. He would bring items like Levis, Takezo's special food (because he had an ulcer) to the camp residents, and treated himself to ice cream en route to Parker.

In 1944, Tom moved to Chicago via a relocation work program. He stayed there for 10 months working in a print shop. The family moved to the Coachella Valley after the war ended.

Initially, they farmed on rented land. Seto Ranch was started in Oasis when the three brothers saved up enough money to pay cash for 80 acres of raw Indian land at $200 an acre. They bulldozed, leveled, irrigated, and performed all the intense labor to convert the virgin land into a business that the families would farm until retirement.

Introduced through mutual friends, Tom married Yoshiko (Yo) Hirata from Long Beach, California, on August 27, 1950. They worked the farm together for over 35 years growing a variety of vegetables, with Tom's two brothers, Masao and George, and their families. During this time, Tom and Yo had four children: Janet, Robin, Norman, and Matthew.

After retiring in 1986 and moving to Bermuda Dunes Country Club, Tom and Yo traveled thousands of miles in Tom's beloved Dodge truck and RV trailer. They were able to sightsee almost every part of the continental United States from Florida to Alaska, making many special friends along the way. In their later years, they loved fishing in Idaho, Oregon, Mammoth Lakes, Bridgeport, and Crowley Lake, California. After working so hard raising their family and toiling on the farm for decades, these retirement years were well-deserved and kind to them.

Yoshiko passed away on February 29, 2016, after 65 years of marriage, and Tom lived independently in their home in Bermuda Dunes until March, 2019. His remaining time was spent at The Fountains at the Carlotta in Palm Desert, California, until his death on April 2, 2020, at the age of 98. Tom is survived by his sister, Yoshiye, his four children Janet (Steve), Robin (Karen), Norman, and Matthew (Robin), his grandchildren (Shae, Erin, Jenna, Stephanie, and Kamariya), and several nieces and nephews. He was admirable in many ways because of his exceptional intelligence, innovative creativity, dedication to perfection, and unique ability to craft functional products that were better than the originals. Tom Seto was a special, outstanding individual and to those who knew him, he will be dearly missed.


A private burial service was held at the Coachella Valley Cemetery, Coachella, California, on Monday, April 13, 2020.