Masato Inaba

A beloved father, brother, uncle, grandfather, mentor and friend, Masato Inaba passed
away on October 15, 2024 with his children at his bedside. Masato (‘Mato’) was born on April 4,
1934 in Papaikou, Hawaii. A graduate of Hilo High School with a Master’s Degree from the
University of Hawaii, Mato went on to work as a Social Worker in San Francisco, California and
then as the Co-Founder and President of U.S. Human Resources Corporation (HRC) where he
served on many public and private councils. He was a former member of the California State
Advisory Select Committee on Small Business, was a member of the San Francisco Loan
Committee for Small Business and a member of the Economic Development Committee, as well
as a Director and President of City Federal Savings and Loan Association in Oakland, California.
His passion and commitment was to supporting small business owners and helping their
businesses to grow. In his later years, Mato returned to Hawaii where he worked with the
Honolulu Community Action Program (HCAP) and served on the AARP Hawaii Executive
Council. He was an active congregant and former board member of the Harris United Methodist
Church in Honolulu. In his retirement he enjoyed keeping busy by volunteering at both his
church and AARP and kept active visiting with family and friends, taking trips to the mainland ,
shopping with his niece Tracey Oh and practicing Tai Chi.
The youngest of the seven siblings, he is survived by his daughter Megan Inaba Hunter; son Ian
Inaba; son-in-law Todd Hunter; grandchildren, Kannon & Avery Hunter; sister Betty Okubo;
numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and good friends young and old.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to your local AARP, the American Cancer Society or a
local church serving the community.