Suetaka Hayase - July 31, 2009.

My cousin married a man who enjoyed life. He had a good job and made it better when he picked up his family and moved away from the country. He surfed and dived for shellfish. He ran around wearing USC jacket, when everyone else had UCLA. His daughter grew up to be a nurse, and his son plays collegiate baseball for one of the top colleges in Tokyo. And he had the most fun visiting us in the U.S. when he got married almost 30 years ago, and when we visited with them 13 years ago. He finished technical high school and he could barely read in his native language, yet he could make his way around Honolulu, and have no problems understanding my wife, who spoke no Japanese. He passed away yesterday from cancer. 5,571 miles and a whole world away yet he feels so close by. My family will miss him, and wishes to be with family there.