Densho Digital Archive - Dave Tatsuno Interview II (denshovh-tdave-03-0015)

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WH: Tell me how you met Alice.

DT: Oh. [Laughs] Well, you know, we were very active in the Christian conference movement, and so... well, actually, I met her because her brother Tom was going to Cal, older brother. And through her -- through him, I met her, and she was very popular because a lot of fellows there at that time. But one, one time, we had a Christian conference every year, and I was chairman of the registration committee, and I had twelve women as my registrar, and she was one of my registrars. And so after the conference was over, I wrote 'em a thank-you letter, and she wrote back to me. So that's, "Dear Dave, if I may call you, be bold enough to call you by your first name..." you know, I still have the letter. I still have all her letters. And so that's how it happened.

WH: How did you know she was the one for you? She's awfully pretty.

DT: Well, she was very likable, attractive, and then she went to Armstrong business college and I went to Cal. And so I used to pick her up during lunchtime at Armstrong business college for lunch on the campus, and we would eat sandwiches on the campus together. Things like that. It was a real romance. She laughs about it now, but I took her to all the Cal dances. And I had two left feet, you know. I wasn't a good dancer, but I still took her to all the Cal dances. And she was always a very, very sweet person, very nice person.

WH: How many years have you been married?

DT: I believe since 1938, so I believe it's about sixty-six years. About time for a change, don't you think? [Laughs]

WH: And how many children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren?

DT: Well, we had six children, but the oldest one, Sheldon, a very bright boy -- I'm not saying because he was my son -- but he had beautiful eyes, big, long eyelashes, and he was loved by everybody. Everybody in camp knew him, I don't know why. But Sheldon, called him Shelly. And we took him to tonsil operation, Stanford hospital, and never came back. And that really hurt us to the quick. And I know the doctor who operated was a doctor who I knew very well at the YMCA. He was chairman of the board of the Japanese Y, Dr. Kitagawa. And when he came and rang the bell to tell us, I opened the door and I saw his face and I can tell something happened. And that was tough for him. But then we got a place in Colma, at the cemetery, and we found a little cherry tree growing there. And so we had a little stone made. The cherry tree is still there; that was 1947. In fact, we were looking at it the other day, my oldest, my second son came and we cleaned up the place this last week. The cherry tree is still growing there, the little one. And then the stone is there. Eventually we'll be there, too, you see. But we've always lived with one foot in heaven. So we're different from the other people. We don't think in terms of just material things, material praise or reputation, it doesn't mean anything. One foot in heaven, so you can do anything you want. We have a different philosophy of life. So all the things I've done, all the deep diving I've done, I'm down 125 feet down, you know, and sharks swimming around us. Oh, you should see some of the sharks. I should show you that.