{"id":2235,"date":"2026-05-08T07:20:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:20:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T07:20:02","slug":"darin-nakakihara-oc-influencer-and-als-advocate-gives-his-final-sign-off-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235","title":{"rendered":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In the end, Darin Nakakihara delivered his final goodbye the same way he had spread his motto of \u201cGo Find Some Joy\u201d to hundreds of thousands of people: on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Read more 81-year-old veteran dies weeks after being allegedly struck by 14-year-old on e-motorcycle in Lake Forest<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWell friends \u2026 I suppose this is my final sign-off. What a beautiful life it has been,\u201d the Tustin High School teacher who\u2019d become a noted online influencer wrote in a statement he\u2019d prepared before the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, had robbed him of his ability to communicate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re reading this, know I left this world deeply loved, and deeply grateful. For every prayer, every message, every laugh shared, every person who walked alongside me through this journey \u2014 thank you. You carried me more than you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakakihara \u2014 known simply as \u201cMr. N\u201d to many \u2014 was named one of The Orange County Register\u2019s \u201cMost Influential\u201d in 2024, not only for his advocacy of patients with ALS but also for his boundless encouragement to embrace the good and approach life with a spirit of gratitude and possibility.<\/p>\n

Two years almost to the day of getting a diagnosis of ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disease that disrupts how nerve cells communicate with the muscles and leads to total paralysis, Nakakihara died at his Laguna Niguel home April 22, surrounded by his wife, Denise, and other family members.<\/p>\n

He was 58.<\/p>\n

When he entered hospice care April 15, Nakakihara posted to his many online followers that it was \u201cthe start of my last chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more With flowers blooming, it\u2019s the perfect time to cultivate new habits<\/a><\/p>\n

Denise Nakakihara said she is thankful for the support the family received during his illness.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe had people we had never met before that came to us from outside of the state, the country, the city, like, it just \u2026,\u201d she said, overcome with emotion during a Zoom conversation. \u201cHe touched lives across so many different platforms and places.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakakihara is survived by his wife; daughters Kendall, Madison and Brooklyn; his mother and father; and legions of friends, former students, a church community and online followers across the world. Memorial services will be private, but for those wishing to express condolences, the family encourages donations to Nakakihara\u2019s nonprofit of choice, I Am ALS, iamals.org.<\/p>\n

Nakakihara himself offered these final instructions in his last communication: \u201cDon\u2019t spend too much time being sad for me. Go take the trip. Call the friend. Watch the sunset. Hug your people a little longer.<\/p>\n

Read more Face it: Older patients are just clunkers in Dr. Doogie\u2019s eyes<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGo find some joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Tustin High School teacher was influential not only for his advocacy of patients with ALS, but also for his boundless encouragement to embrace the good and approach life with a spirit of gratitude and possibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-verified-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDarin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Tustin High School teacher was influential not only for his advocacy of patients with ALS, but also for his boundless encouragement to embrace the good and approach life with a spirit of gratitude and possibility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235\"},\"wordCount\":453,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Verified News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235\",\"name\":\"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":695},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=2235#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"The Tustin High School teacher was influential not only for his advocacy of patients with ALS, but also for his boundless encouragement to embrace the good and approach life with a spirit of gratitude and possibility.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":695,"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off","datePublished":"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235"},"wordCount":453,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp","articleSection":["News","Verified News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235","name":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-08T07:20:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7239bc0dee159d33a1c93969e927d0a0.webp","width":1024,"height":695},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=2235#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Darin Nakakihara, OC influencer and ALS advocate, gives his final sign-off"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}