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BS: And Bill, seeing as you knew Tatsuo, and how you might join in the conversation as well, I think it would be good for you to give a brief response on how you met and worked with Tatsuo. So, would you like to do that really quick?

BT: Yeah, I think I came on the JACL board around 2000, and Tatsuo was there. You know, he was just involved with everything, and he voiced his opinion. He had this little subtle sense of humor that was kind of, you know... but he got along really, he cultivated relationships. That's what I remember. And I was talking to one of our older Nisei members, Kazzie Katayama, a couple days ago, and she regretted that she couldn't be part of this. But anyway, she was saying one thing about Tatsuo is he "courted" all the old Nisei ladies on and actually had a little fan club going. Every, like Arlene was saying, every once in a while, he would call May Namba and Kazzie Katayama, and Tama Muratani and say, "Hey, let's get together for lunch." He would do that. And then he was... Kazzie just has so many fond memories of him. I said I would be sure and relay that, too, on this call. The other thing is, Tatsuo was the one that -- I don't know if I credit or blame -- for me being president. One thing is, when you're president, you always have to make sure you find a successor. And so he invited me out to the Bush, and I knew what he was gonna ask me. But his method was devious. He knew my favorite drink was a martini, so he said, "Oh, I'll buy you a martini," gave me a martini. And then it's like, a little bit later he's like, "Tell me about why you became involved in in JACL. Oh, let me get you another martini." [Laughs] So I have another martini and he said, "I'm always impressed by how much you do and your commitment. And yeah, we're looking, you know... it's just really good, what you do for our chapter. Let me get you another martini." And then eventually, it led up to, "Well, Bill, I would like you to be my president-elect, so you can become president." It took four martinis, and I said, "Well, sure, why not?" [Laughs]

But anyway, I think about that with Tatsuo because, you know, that's the type of person you want. I mean, he was, it was not unnatural, but he always was on target, he knew what he wanted, but he brought you along and nurtured you, and that's what I remember. I wanted to add on final thought that Arlene said about how he was beloved. And I was reading an article that Uncle Bob Santos wrote, and he said when Tatsuo died, they had a memorial service at Seattle Center, and over five hundred people attended, including every member of the Seattle City Council, the mayor, and so many members of the House of Representatives from Washington, as well as members of the governor's staff and his administration, so that was just a... but there's, I think we all have these really, really good memories of Tatsuo. So thanks, Brent, for asking me.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2022 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.