Frank Miyamoto Collection

​​Frank Miyamoto was born in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on August 15, 1926 to Shunzo (Joe) and Yoshie Miyamoto. The youngest of three children, he had an older brother, James, and an older sister, Anna Marie (Aiko). After the start of World War II, the Japanese American family was incarcerated at Manzanar Relocation Camp in Owens Valley, CA in 1942. In January 1944, Frank and his mom were able to move to Chicago, where his sister and brother-in-law had chosen to resettle. Frank served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after his discharge in 1952, moved back to Chicago to live with his mother on Hampden Court in Lincoln Park. After Yoshie’s death in 1955, Frank lived with his sister Anna Marie, her husband Mark Nakamura, and their children Gail, Claire, Guy, and Kathy in an apartment on Diversey Pkwy. The family, including Frank, would later move to Highland Park when the fifth Nakamura child, Joan, was born.

Frank worked in electronics his whole life – first at a TV repair shop in Chicago, and then for 31 years at Dynapar Corp. in Waukegan. In addition to shooting home movies and still photography, Frank’s hobbies also included model-building and building electronics (such as audio equipment and parts for computers). He was particularly passionate about auto racing (both as a spectator and scrutineer), and was a member of Sports Club Car of America. He married Terrell Higgins in 1979 and became a step-father to five (Curt, Lisa, Elaine, Sean, and Kelly), and, eventually, a grandfather and great-grandfather. He passed away in 2003.