Saturday, January 30, 2010

Unpublished Class of ’61 Notes for the Bulletin

Mike and Lorrie Chun performed as part of a Tango formation at the Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association’s 50th Anniversary Ball at the Waikiki Sheraton and attended by more than 600 people. The performance is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvlufPIWlHw

Mike reported that Mike and Trudy Uechi competed at the Hawaii Star Ball in the Grand Seniors, dancing the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Quick Step. In the afternoon competition they came in first place, and in evening competition (exactly the same dances and competitors) they came in fourth.

Enjoying a September 23, 2009 dinner at Happy Days Restaurant with Ed Futa, Secretary General of Rotary International, were Tom Campbell, Mike Chun, Steve Fujikami, Dexter Furuhashi, Warren Ho, Mo Lai, Ken Lee, Jim Miyashiro, Milt Oshiro, Steve Takaki, Tom Teruya, Dick Tsuda, Don Watanabe, and Tom Wong.

When former ‘Iolani teacher Reed Taylor visited in October, he and Tom Teruya visited the Bishop Museum followed later in the week with a nostalgic dinner at the Willows with Tom Campbell, Mike Chun, Warren Ho, Mo Lai, Ken and Jennifer Lee, Jim Miyashiro, Bob Mumper, Milt Oshiro, Steve Takaki, Tom Teruya, Dick Tsuda, Cliff Uejio, and Emmett and Judy Yoshioka. Mike Chun has uploaded videos taken at the event. Here are the links:

#1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btd5NXKcKoI

#2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DnQmip16e0

#3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBMyKsdSY6M

#4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk6iVmxxZ0M

If anyone has pictures from any class function, past or present, email them to Mike at iolani61@gmail.com so he can post them on the Class of ’61 blog site.
Andre Dulce reported that he and his wife went to the UH-Washington State football game and had fun cheering for Hawai‘i. He ran into Steve Takaki during halftime but just had time to say “Hi” and “Bye.” He thought he saw Winnie Hoshino but wasn’t sure that it was he because the last time Andre saw Winnie was at the 30th or 40th class reunion. Andre still has the main karate school in Bellevue (Washington Shotokan Association) and 10 other locations. He was promoted to 7th Degree Black Belt in February with the Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association in San Jose, CA.


When Mo Lai went to California for a Stanford reunion, he had lunch in San Jose with Sid Takenishi and Chuck Leong. Sid is still catching a bunch of fish, and Chuck is enjoying life without eyeglasses.

Mo

Monday, January 25, 2010

Jon Kobayshi

From Jon Kobayashi's daughter:

My family thanks you for all of the condolences. My dad's service will be held on Tuesday, February 2nd at Borthwick Mortuary (visitation to start at 5:00 p.m. and services will begin at 6:00 p.m.). Burial is scheduled for Wednesday, February 3rd at Nuuanu Memorial Park. Thank you once again.

Traci Jay

Farewell Jon Kobayashi

On Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in the early afternoon, I stepped outside my office and went to the restroom. When I walked out I saw paramedics pushing someone in a stretcher. Immediately I felt worried. Later that evening I found out Jon Kobayashi was the one in the stretcher. He had suffered aneurism. I was shocked and saddened. I met Jon through Rep. Bob Nakasone in 2003. He was such a nice person. I always enjoyed talking to him. In 2006, when my grandma Bessie Karamatsu was in Queen’s hospital, every evening I would walk to the hospital and then return to the capitol visiting Rep. Nakasone and the gang at Nakasone’s office. Jon and I were outside on the balcony. He knew my grandma’s health was failing and I was hurting inside. He told me the most comforting words a person could say and hugged me. I tried to hold back my sadness and I could see the sincerity in Jon as he looked emotional as well. Earlier this month, I bumped into him at the capitol. I told him, “We gotta hang out sometime.” He smiled and agreed. That was the last time I talked to him. Jon had such a good heart, so sincere and caring. It is hard to believe he is gone.

Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Valerie Haas

On Jan. 12, 2010, Valerie Haas passed away at the age of 91. Her grandnephew, Michael Nitka, said she passed away peacefully. Friends are welcome to send condolences to the family by writing to him at 2185 Ladycliff Circle, Thousand Oaks CA 91360. Dick Tsuda will be sending condolences and a check on behalf of the Class of '61.
From Mo

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Greetings from the Lums

Here is the 2010 version of our Holiday Greeting. Our kids came with their boyfriends from NY, San Francisco and Miami and my mother came from Honolulu. It's probably more information than anyone wants to know about our family, but you might find the video entertaining and informative. Plus, it will give you a peek at the kind of fun we can share if you come to visit us.

YouTube

DejaViewDigital has shared a video with you on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL1Np5EI-70

Holiday greetings from Elliott & Linda Lum. Get a peek into the fun times we shared with family and friends.
Here is our holiday video. As usual, we had a hilarious time together. We spent a lot of time making music together. Kristin just bought a ukulele, and Allison will have access to a Fretlight guitar like I have. Tiffany also plays the guitar.
The title slide is green, because 2009 was the year that we "Went Green" to the hilt. We've had a solar pool heating system for 7 years. In January, we added a solar photovoltaic system which dramatically cut our electric bills. We also added a weather based irrigation controller which sets our sprinklers based on weather conditions. In October, we bought a new Prius. We really like the 50 mpg and the Radar Cruise Control. In December we made our finances greener by refinancing our mortgage at 4.625% with ZERO costs!
All of this investment and cost reduction sets the stage for Linda's retirement on March 1. Her last day of work will be January 29. So far, we're planning trips to the East Coast, San Francisco and Hawaii.
The other highlight was our trip to Korea from May 11 - 22, 2009. We assembled a family group of 12 -- including Elliott's mother Dora, sister and cousins -- and joined a group of 39 others to finally see the country where Dora's parents were born.
Life is good.
Elliott & Linda

Friday, January 15, 2010

Sing-A-Leong


Chuck Leong saw my Ellivis blog posting and discovered that we shared a common interest in guitars, singing and golf. He and Deanna were vacationing in Newport Beach and they drove to Carlsbad for an evening of dinner, Wii games and singing. This video captures the spirit of the great time we had together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2_yicrufs

P.S. If any other classmates visit San Diego, please look us up.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Eddie Hamada Services

A memorial service for the late Eddie Hamada '46 has been set for Sunday, January 31 on the 'Iolani School campus. Visitation will begin at 9:00 am, with a service to follow at noon. Parking will be available in the Kamoku Street structure and on the baseball field.




Mr. Hamada passed away at his home on January 3 at the age of 81.