Minoru Tsukamoto, 92, died on Monday, December 17, 2018, at the Jenkins Living Center in Watertown, SD.  Funeral Services will be 9:30AM, Wednesday, December 19, 2018, at  Cornerstone United Methodist Church.  Visitation will be from 8:30AM  until time of service at the church on Wednesday, December 19.

Minoru was born on December 27, 1925, in Wakayama-ken, Japan.  His parents Jusuke and Seki (Inove) Tsukamoto, were both Shinto priests.  As a teenager, he was sent to Tokyo to study at a Shinto school with the hope that he, too, would become a priest some day.  World War II broke out at that time and found Minoru suffering with starvation.  He was not drafted into the service because he was "too thin."  The doctor told him that he didn't have long to live because of his condition.  One day, as he received a small payment for his radio operator work, he walked on the streets of war-torn Tokyo and looked into a bookstore and found an interesting little black book called New Testament.  He was impressed in his heart that he should purchase it, so instead of buying food to satisfy his hunger, he bought the New Testament and began reading it.  He was amazed to read about this one God who loved the world so much that he gave Jesus Christ to come and die for his sin.  None of the millions of gods that he had been taught to worship had done anything for Minoru, but Jesus had died to save him.  As the war continued, he felt the distinct sensation that this God was watching over his life.  After World War II ended, he gave his heart to Jesus and became a Christian.

He continued his education at Waseda University in Tokyo and studied English.  As he finished his degree, he received an invitation from someone whom he had never met in the United States to come to study at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky.  After he finished his masters degree, he went to Sao Paulo, Brazil, as a missionary to work among the Japanese immigrants.  There he met a young Japanese-Brazilian lady, Yoko, who later became his wife.

The couple moved to Paraguay in 1962 as missionaries and ministered there for 26 years.  Both their children, Ruth and Daniel were born there.  As their time in Paraguay ended, they moved to Rapid City, SD, as Minoru received an invitation to join the pastoral team at First United Methodist Church.  After two years, the door opened for them to move to Watertown, SD.  Minoru worked as the chaplain for Jenkins Living Center until his retirement in 2014 at 88 years of age.  Perhaps no one back in Japan during the war would have thought that there was any hope for the little sickly teen, but God had other plans.  Minoru's life was spared and he experienced the saving grace of Jesus.  He lived a life of joy sharing with others the love of his Savior.

Minoru is survived by his wife, Yoko, one daughter Ruth (Vince) Archer of Argentina, one son Daniel Tsukamoto of Watertown, SD, and two grandchildren Joel (Shelby) Archer of Granger, Indiana, and Isaac (Hannah) Archer of Versailles, Kentucky.

He was preceded in death by  his parents, brothers , and one sister.