Bennie Masayuki Yamane January 28, 1931 – February 8, 2016

A memorial service to celebrate Bennie’s life will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016, at 10:30 A.M., at Habing Family Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, Bennie’s family requests that donations be made in his memory to the Gilroy Foundation, P.O. Box 774 Gilroy, CA 95021. Condolences can be made at www.HabingFamilyFuneralHome.com.
 Bennie Masayuki Yamane died February 8, 2016. The cause was congestive heart failure. He was 85 years old.
 His wife, Carol, son, Steven, daughter, Sandra, daughter-in-law, Kelly and granddaughters, Emily and Erica, survive Bennie. His eldest son, Chris preceded him in death. 
 He was the brother to Grace (Pat) Limones, Daisy (Harold) Tsujimoto, Nancy Yamane (Bruce) and James (Tadako) Yamane and brother-in-law to Patti (Dallas) Selman, Richard (Nora) Nishimoto, Lynda (Bernard) Lax, Phillip (Ann) Nishimoto, Suzan (Arnie) Lanzillotta and uncle to many nieces and nephews.  
 Bennie was born in Gilroy and at the age of 11, he, along with all other residents and citizens of Japanese descent, were forcibly removed from their homes and illegally detained in internment camps. 
 Bennie’s family was initially sent to Tule Lake and then transferred to Amache, Colorado.
 After being released from internment camp, Bennie’s family moved to Grand Junction, CO and farmed until earning enough money to return to Gilroy. 
 Bennie served in the US Army in Germany during the Korean War and when honorably discharged, returned to Gilroy and started farming.
 Bennie raised a variety of crops in the Santa Clara and San Joaquin Valley, including strawberries, tomatoes, cherries, bell peppers, sugar beets, cotton, onions and corn for corn nuts. 
 He was active in the community, serving as past commander of the American Legion Post 669, director and past president of Wheeler Hospital Board, director and past president of the Salinas Golf and Country Club; member and past president of the Gilroy JACL and for many decades, a member of the Thursday Night Poker Club.