Simply CremationMax L. Tamura
Max Lindon Tamura of Avondale, Arizona unexpectedly passed away on February 11, 2020, at the age of 68. Max was born on October 19, 1951 to Iwoa (Tom) Tamura and Lottie Mildred (Stephenson) Tamura in Las Animas, Colorado. Prior to moving to Arizona, he lived in Morrison, Colorado.
Max retired from the Adolph Coors Company after 43 years of service. He was an extremely hard worker and received several promotions during his tenure which began in 1971 at the Coors Container Company. He also held positions at the Coors Endline Division, as well as at the Coors Glass Division. He was very experienced in the container manufacturing industry extruding aluminum and glass and provided training to personnel in the manufacturing operations.
Max proudly served his country in the United States Navy where he provided instruction at Class A Shipfitter School in the proper use of hand and power tools, gas and arc welding, and drafting and blueprint reading. He served honorably with courage, and commitment and he took pride in his military service.
He found solace in nature, was an enthusiastic traveler, and took hundreds of photographs. He was fascinated by the mountains, astronomy, flight, history, music, art, and cuisine.
His love for his family was immense and was evident in his final moments. One of Max’s biggest accomplishments was being a father and he adored his children more than anything else in the world.
He was a spiritual and emotional man and always had advice to offer. Everyone has unique moments in their life that define their character and mold them into the people they are destined to become. Max rarely asked anybody for help and was a generous person. He would often go out of his way to reach those who were in need.
God has His own special plan for each of us and Max lived an amazing life. Only now that he is gone, do we truly appreciate what we are now without. Life without him will be very difficult but God has given us the strength to move forward. Above all, we give thanks for the life of a man we are so proud to be able to call father, son, brother, nephew, cousin, uncle, and friend. He was well-loved and will truly be missed. While he is no longer physically with us, his memory and impact on us all will endure.
Max entered into everlasting life in heaven with his family and friends that have predeceased him. He is survived by countless family and extended family members whom will be forever grateful that he entered into their lives. Although we have lost a blessing from God and the loss will leave a hole in so many lives, please find comfort in knowing that he is now in the loving arms of God!
To honor Max’s memory, his ashes will be scattered in many different places that were meaningful and special to him. Family and friends are invited to attend his celebration of life which will be planned at a later date pending the current COVID-19 global pandemic.
Growing up, I have been told how much my grandpa loved me and how close we were. Every year he would write to me and send me Christmas letters. Even though I never told him it (at the time) I really did appreciate the thought. I still have all the Christmas cards and letters to this day.
As I got older and had my son, I wanted to better my relationship with him. Over the last couple of years, we texted back and forth and had phone calls. I wish I could have said good bye to him before he passed, but I am grateful to have those phone calls with him. I had not seen him since I was little, but I am beyond grateful that he wanted to live closer to his family. He will always be missed.
My dad was an amazing and wonderful person and an inspiration to us all! Words can’t even describe the sorrow I feel for the whole family. I hope you will all find solace knowing that on numerous occasions he expressed to me that he loved his parents, brothers, sisters, children, and extended family tremendously! He was truly loved by everyone and he will be cherished in our memories until we are fortunate enough to be reunited with him one day in Heaven. I will forever be grateful that he was a part of my life!
A person that departs from this earth never truly leaves, for they are still alive in our hearts and through us, they live on. Although we have lost a blessing from God and the loss will leave a hole in so many lives, please find comfort in knowing that he is now in the loving arms of God!
I have many fun memories of my Dad when I was growing up. When Sonya and I were little girls, he would take us to the parking lot of the church and do donuts in the snow…I remember how fun that was and that he only did it when our Mom wasn’t with us! We lived across the street from a high school and he would take us over to the field to play soccer. He loved soccer! He also loved his Adidas track suit which he still had after all these years and now I have it. My Dad loved photography…he took so many wonderful pictures! He was always the one behind the camera so I don’t have very many pictures of me with him. He had a dark room in our garage…I remember the red light being on and we couldn’t go in when it was on, it would ruin his pictures. Music was something that Dad loved very much…he’s had the same stereo system for most of his life along with hundreds of cd’s. I hear so many songs that remind me of him and the memories of what we were doing in that moment. Dad also loved his Volvo’s…he took such pride in his cars always making sure they were perfect! He used to have Sonya and I help him wax his cars. Growing up, he would always take us to Furrs…it was his favorite place to eat.
My Dad loved the mountains….he always loved most when he lived somewhere in the mountains….he felt such a sense of peace.
On February 11, 2020, I said goodbye to the first man in my life….he will be loved and honored always…..he was with me when I took my first breath and I was with him when he took his last. I love you Dad
I met Max when I was still in high school. I had a class with his sister Nancy. Also, Max was good friends with a couple of my friends, and ended up living with them for a short while. While he was living with them, I found out that his birthdate was the same as my sister, Sunny’s, birthdate. We decided to throw a birthday party for both of them. They got to talking and really hit it off. They were married just a few months later.
In a year or so, Sunny & Max had a baby girl, who they named Sonya. The next year, they had Carrie. Their family was pretty complete and they did a lot of things together. One of my favorite memories of Max was when Sonya was about 4 or 5. She had a stuffed Porky Pig doll who she carried everywhere with her. She took him on vacations and anywhere she went. One day we all took a drive to Colorado Springs and spent the day at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Max and I were talking and thought that it would make a great photo for me to throw Porky up in the air and Max could get the picture of him “flying”. Sonya agreed that she’d like Porky to fly, so I threw him as high as I could. Not only did Max miss the picture, I failed to catch Porky before he hit the pavement. Of course, being a stuffed animal, it didn’t really hurt Porky, but there was no convincing Sonya that we were not really mean. She was mad at us all day.
After Sunny & Max divorced, the rest of the Johnson Clan still saw Max for the holidays and family get-togethers. He was always invited and always welcomed. He made a point of coming to all of the family things that he could, and was always so proud of his girls. I remember him coming and watching Sonya and Carrie when they took riding lessons one summer. He was always very supportive of the things they liked to do. Even though they were divorced, Sunny & Max raised two gorgeous, sweet daughters, and also seemed to really enjoy being close to Sonya’s family in Arizona in his later years. My hopes for peace and comfort go out to his family and friends. I know he is very much missed.
I was married to Max Tamura for ten and a half years. We were blessed with our two daughters, Sonya and Carrie. Max was an outdoor person. He loved all of our family vacations, but his favorites were always when the four of us would go camping in a tent in the mountains. I remember one camping trip when we came back from a hike and the chipmunks had gotten into our gorp (trailmix) and ate everything except the raisins. During another hike, we noticed ticks falling off the tree limbs onto Carrie. She had a red fake fur coat on, and they must have thought her coat was an animal. They were digging into her coat as quick as they could, so we hurried and took her coat off and left it there. We had many fun times doing things together. Rest in Peace, Max. Sunny
I was deeply saddened by the death of Max. He was my uncle for several years. He was always fun to be around. I remember him laughing and joking all of the time. I will forever be grateful for the wonderful cousin’s I have because of him and Sunny. Rest in peace Max, Holly.
Even though Aunt Sunny and Max divorced when I was just a kid I always thought of him as Uncle Max. I had the opportunity to talk to him at a couple of events that Aunt Sunny put together and really enjoyed the time spent with him. He was pretty knowledgeable about a number of topics. My favorite memory is when they lived across from the high school and he let my brother, sister, and I play with his soccer ball. I think that he even played with us for a while.
I love him and will always keep a special place in my heart for him. His passing is a great loss for his family and Sonya and Carrie. Losing a parent is not an easy thing but for me and the loss of my Dad things seemed better when I would hear how he impacted the lives of others. You girls had a great Dad that you can be proud of. I hope that all who knew and loved Uncle Max are able to find some peace and comfort in his memories. Rest in peace Uncle Max.
We always enjoyed Max. Sunny and Max came to Las Vegas to visit us. While Gerald worked, we 3 went sightseeing. There was a helicopter ride so Sunny and I rode together. After it landed, Max and Sunny went. It was a fun day for us. We had a good time with Max and Sunny. We were glad they had come. Good times with Max when they lived in Arvada, too. He was always glad to see us. Sunny and Max lived in Arvada across the street from the school.
Rest in peace Max. ~ Karen and Gerald
I forgot to mention in my first posting about Max, that he once saved a life! Probably a lot of you have never heard the story. The event happened when Max and I were living in an apartment in Arvada, and I was pregnant with our first daughter, Sonya. Max told me he was going to run over to the Target store on Colfax, and when he got back home, he told me about what had happened to him while he was gone. He said he was on the side road leading into Target, when he came upon a woman who was stopped in the road and was outside of her car and very frantic. Max stopped to ask the woman what was wrong and she said her small boy had swallowed a piece of candy and it was stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t breathe! Max got the boy out of the car and did the Heimlich Maneuver on him and got the candy out, so he saved that little boy’s life and was a HERO! A person never knows what their day might bring. I’m just so happy that he knew what to do.
One year ago today I had to say goodbye to my dad. It was the most difficult and most painful day of my life! His absence has left a tremendous hole in my heart that will NEVER heal, no matter how many times someone tells me that “time heals all wounds”. The one year anniversary of my dad’s passing was no more difficult than bearing his loss every single day of my life during the last year! I truly miss my dad and wish I had just one more day with him to tell him all the things I didn’t get to tell him; to take him to all the places I told him we would go; to share all of the stories I wanted to share with him; and to listen to all of his stories just one more time! I love him and miss him so much! I can’t wait to see him again in Heaven!
I’ve looked at this page many many times and struggle with the thought of having to acknowledge this reality. I spent a few days with Uncle Max just a week prior to his unexpected passing, so this really hit me hard. I have so many memories growing up of Uncle Max. Blizzard of ’82 when he proudly drove his AMC Eagle around to pick up family for our Tamura Christmas get together refusing to allow it not to happen. Spending time with my cousins at the house across from the highschool, his model boats, his stereo, the Evergreen house and his Volvo’s. As an adult, our conversations were mostly about Sonya and Carrie. His biggest prides and joy of his life. As any human being does, we make mistakes. Sometimes his words wouldn’t come out they way he meant, but Uncle Max always had good intentions, his heart was always in the right place, just sometimes misunderstood. I’m proud to have him as family and privileged to have had the chance to see him so happy being reconnected with his children and grand children. I miss you Uncle.
Happy Birthday in Heaven Dad. Although you are not here anymore, your memory lives on. Not a single day goes by that I don’t think about you. I miss you every day but I know that you are still with me. I will always remember the love you had for me and cherish the time we had together. I love you and miss you so much!
Happy Veteran’s Day Dad from one Veteran to another! With tremendous respect and gratitude for your contributions to safeguard our freedoms; thank you for your selfless sacrifice to protect and defend our country at all costs. Thank you for your valor, courage, and strength.
I will always cherish the talks we had about our military experiences and loved that we had that in common. I love you and miss you so much!
Time does not heal all wounds. You are greatly missed uncle Max and always in our thoughts and memories. Its been almost two years since you left us, but it still feels like yesterday.
Dad, it has been two years since you had to leave us but it feels like an eternity without you here. I feel the loss of your presence every day. I have never known a pain as deep as losing you and I am forever changed because of it. Oftentimes, I am overwhelmed with the void created by your absence. I am left with devastation and great sorrow because the best was definitely yet to come. The only real comfort I have found has been in knowing that you are no longer suffering with physical or emotional pain and you are now in the loving arms of God! Life without you will be difficult but God has given us the strength to move forward. I am grateful that you lived to see me find happiness, inner peace, security, and love. You always told me how immensely proud you were of me and I wish that I could have spent much more time with you! You made the kind of memories that create lasting impressions and you had a unique sense of compassion and humor. You remain very much alive in my heart and in my mind. I will always love you and miss you, and I remain forever grateful that you gave me the gift of life!
Wishing you a very Happy Father’s Day to my dad who is far away. Though I think about you every day, today I miss you even more and I wish you were here to celebrate your special day. I love you so much and miss you tremendously!
Happy Birthday Dad. The sorrow of your passing still overwhelms me, but I know you are in Heaven where you belong. You will always be with me in my heart and in my mind and you will always be loved and forever missed!
Dad, I wish you were here to spend time with on this Thanksgiving. I will forever be thankful and grateful that you gave me the gift of life. I think about you and miss you everyday and even more so on the holidays. I love you and miss you so much!
Merry Christmas Dad and I miss you every day. I hope this Christmas is even more beautiful in Heaven this year. Growing up, I always looked forward to the Christmas gifts I’d get from you and the time that we would spend together celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Now that you’re in Heaven, I’m sure you’re celebrating this joyous holiday the most awesome way possible! I look forward to seeing you again someday. I love you Dad.
3 years since you left us feels like an eternity. I remember vividly the last moments we spent together talking about life while enjoying Golden Corral Buffet. I miss you uncle.