Nakata was born on Bainbridge Island on July 11, 1934. He graduated from Seattle University in 1957, later serving in the U.S. Army for two years. He married Ellen Naruto Jan. 20, 1962, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and they made their home on Bainbridge Island.

In addition to his wife survivors include two daughters, Susan Allen and Julie Bowman of Bainbridge Island; three brothers, Robert of Seattle, and Wayne and Vernon, both of Bainbridge Island; along with four grandchildren.

Nakata was one of the principle owners of Central Market in Poulsbo, in partnership with his cousins Larry and Ron Nakata, and Greg Johnson and Wayne Loverich. Their firm, Town and Country Markets Inc., operates Central Market and Poulsbo Mark-It Thriftway, Town and Country Market on Bainbridge and three other markets in the Seattle area.

The Nakata family emigrated from Japan in the late 1800s and have owned and operated businesses locally for more than a century. Nakata’s father, John, operated Eagle Harbor market before joining his brother, Mo, in founding Town and Country Market with Ed Loverich in the late 1950s. They later opened Viking Market in Poulsbo, which today is the Poulsbo Mark-It Thriftway. The 70,000 square-foot, locally popular Central Market, opened in 1995.

Nakata was 7 when he and his family were among the many Japanese interned during World War II.

Over the years, the Nakata family has donated to numerous fund-raisers such as Septemberfest and Viking Fest. But the family’s pet project was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which raises money for breast cancer research. This year, the Nakata businesses fielded a team of 634 people — one of the largest team in the state. The Foundation recently presented Don and Ellen Nakata with a trophy in their honor, for their work in raising money for breast cancer research.