Harry Morisaki Made Produce An Art And Fishing A Passion

Shoppers who passed grocery-store produce bins prepared by Harry Morisaki usually took notice.

The fresh, crisp vegetables and fruits beckoned like a colorful, sumptuous banquet: bright red radishes, deep purple beets, vibrant orange carrots, and the soft, leafy greens, all blending in row after row of neatly-trimmed and arranged treasures.

"It's an art . . . He really liked working with produce. That was the key to it," said his longtime friend and fellow groceryman Merv Henderson Sr.

Mr. Morisaki, a career produce manager, died Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 67.

A native of Tacoma, Mr. Morisaki moved to Seattle during his late teens and went to work in the grocery business. He soon became known for his skill in caring for vegetables and fruits. As a longtime produce manager, customers also sought his advice on preparing produce.

Mr. Morisaki was a produce manager in a number of North End grocery stores, including 14 years at QFC, 15 years at an independent Thriftway store, and stints at Albertson's and Tradewell.

After his retirement five years ago, he still was in demand for parttime work.

A dedicated unionist, Mr. Morisaki was a member of the Retail Clerks Union, Local No. 1105, for four decades, serving for more than 20 years on the executive board.

"As much as he could be, he was union through and through," said Henderson, former executive officer of the local.

At home, Mr. Morisaki was also drawn to the produce of the earth. An avid gardener, he grew 7-foot-tall tomato vines bending with luscious tomatoes, in addition to his usual crops of sugar peas, sweet corn, potatoes and other veggies.

"And there wouldn't be a weed in the garden," said his wife, Mary.

Fishing was another passion: saltwater fishing, freshwater fishing, any kind of fishing, said his wife.

Sometimes the Morisakis would pack the trailer and go for a month to Skagit County, or the Okanogan, wherever the fish were biting, she said.

Mary Morisaki remembers once catching their limit on a salmon charter out of Westport, then fishing streams for sea-run cutthroat trout on their way home.

"He loved sports of all kinds, he loved his work, he loved life," she said. "He was a pretty wonderful guy."

Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Coleen Jay and Cheryl Ann Morisaki, both of Seattle; a granddaughter, Lauren Jay, of Seattle; two brothers, George of Seattle and John of LaCanada, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Mary Edwards of Edmonds; a stepson, Jerry Thompson of Snohomish, eight step-grandchildren and nine step-great grandchildren.

A service is set for 6 p.m. today at Butterworth-Manning-Ashmore, 300 E. Pine St.

Memorials may be sent to the Northwest Hospice Center, 1550 N. 115th St., Seattle 98133-8498.