Ex-Darien Man Who Was Sent To Internment Camp Dies

The obituary is from the family:

CHESTERTON, IN – Stanford Kaoru Tsugawa of Chesterton, IN, (formerly of Aiea, HI, and of Darien, IL) passed away peacefully on October 12th in Chesterton, IN, at the age of 92. He was born to James and Chisato Tsugawa in Honolulu, HI, on December 24th , 1929.

Stanford is survived by sons Michael Tsugawa and daughter-in-law Akiko (Nishimura) Tsugawa, and James Tsugawa and son-in-law Charles Kaliski, younger sister Mae Tsugawa, grandchildren Mia Tsugawa and Noa Tsugawa, and several nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Kathleen (Talbot) Tsugawa, older brother Albert Tsugawa, younger sister Janet (Tsugawa) Matsuoka, and younger brother Harvard Tsugawa.

Previous to WW II, Stanford's parents, who had dual citizenship, moved the family between Hawaii, Korea, and Japan, as they sought a place they could best raise the family. As it happened, they were living in Hawaii at the start of the war, and found themselves incarcerated in government camps, as many Japanese Americans were. Though this unalterably guided all the family members' life paths thereafter, Stanford lived a life of service to the United States, both as a soldier in the U.S. Army, and as a lifelong civil servant, working as an HR officer in the Veteran's Administration hospital.

Click here for a video of Mr. Tsugawa.

During his time as an HR officer, he met and married Kathleen Talbot of Sturgeon Bay, WI, and they went on to raise a family of two sons, James and Michael.

Stanford was without doubt a family man, saving meticulously for his sons' educations, and later on, that of his grandchildren as well. He never failed to make time for his family, passing along his love of bowling and tennis to his sons, and traveling the world with his brother and sisters. He came home unfailingly at 5pm every day from work, and was present at every school event and major life event that his sons were involved in. The family was never, ever, late for anything as long as Stanford was involved.

Though he was on the shy side and quiet, he was generous and kind to all. In son Michael's high school years, a cheerleading classmate needed a stand-in dad when her own father refused to take part in a 'father and daughter' halftime routine. Stanford cheerfully obliged, and took to the football field with the young lady at halftime. While not particularly social himself, he made sure his home was a place of welcome for his sons' friends as they grew, and he was well liked by all he met. Though no one dared utter it when he was around, he came to be known affectionately as "The Bear", behind his back.

As the family re-extended itself back to Japan through son Michael's marriage, Stanford took the opportunity to travel back to the family homeland, and was even able to see the village his grandparents grew up in, outside of Hiroshima. He developed a wonderful relationship with his daughter-in-law Akiko, and also enjoyed good relations with the Nishimuras of Takaoka, the Teramotos of Ashiya, the Uranos of Kanazawa, and the Wadas of Sapporo, in their various locations in Japan.

Open-minded and patient, Stanford listened more than he talked, and was an excellent role model for others in seeing both sides of any story or issue. A firm believer in both education and justice, he visited high schools in NW Indiana several times to give presentations on the Japanese-American incarceration camps, and he delighted in speaking with students. A link below share's Stanford thoughts on what he believed young people should remember.

You can make donations here to the Japanese American National Museum.