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| Irene Tamura |
Irene Shizuye Hirata (Poston camp 2) was born in Del Rey, California, on January 5, 1922 to immigrant parents, Yoichi Ben and Izumi (Masuda) Hirata. Irene graduated from Sanger High School and married Iwao Harold Tamura.
Prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her brother Richard Yoshito Hirata had enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 24, 1941 in Sacramento.
On July 13, 1942, Irene, Iwao Harold, and daughter, Diane Tamura were evacuated from Sanger and arrived at the Poston, Arizona internment camp II. On October 5, 1943, her family, with her parents and brothers, and sister Miyuki Lois Hirata and husband, Teruto Ted Yamamoto, were transferred from Poston, Arizona to the Tule Lake Segregation Center.
On July 13, 1942, Irene, Iwao Harold, and daughter, Diane Tamura were evacuated from Sanger and arrived at the Poston, Arizona internment camp II. On October 5, 1943, her family, with her parents and brothers, and sister Miyuki Lois Hirata and husband, Teruto Ted Yamamoto, were transferred from Poston, Arizona to the Tule Lake Segregation Center.
After the end of World War II, Irene and her family moved to Madera, California in 1950, where they farmed and raised a family.
Irene Tamura passed away on June 26, 2011, at the age of 89 years. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Tamura; parents, Yoichi and lzumi Hirata; sister, Lois Miyuki Yamamoto (1994); and brothers, Richard Yoshito (1997) and Frank Hideo Hirata (2009).
She is survived by her daughters, Diane (Raymond) Reeves, III, of Madera, and Charlene (Calvin) Nishinaka of Morro Bay; and brother, Bill Kiyoshi (Mary) Hirata of Reedley.
Source: Fresno Bee on June 29, 2011
