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| Terry Koike |
Terry Teruo Koike (53-5-C) was born on September 12, 1922 in San Fernando, California to Shiyoshi and Teru Koike. Terry attended schools in Los Angeles and Imperial Valley. He graduated from El Centro High School and attended Imperial Valley Community College.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, his father, Shiyoshi Koike was picked up by the FBI and detained. On May 19, 1942, Teru, Terry, and his brother, Roy Koike were evacuated from Holtville, California and moved to their wartime home at the Poston, Arizona internment camp block 53-5-C. On April 14, 1944, Terry with his brother and mother, voluntarily transferred from Poston, Arizona to the Department of Justice detention prison at Crystal City, Texas to join Shiyoshi Koike, who was detained at that location. While at Crystal City, Terry met his future wife, Hisa (Imamura).
Terry traveled to Japan, and returned to Southern California. In 1951, Terry married Hisa and they settled in Spring Valley, California where he raised his family, orchids and ferns for over 30 years. In 1974, his cymbidium, General Sherman variety "Spring Valley" earned the title of #1 Orchid in the World.
In June, 2010, Terry was awarded an honorary AA degree from Imperial Valley Community College. He died at the age of 88 years, on August 29, 2011 in La Mesa, California.
He is survived by his wife Hisa; sons, Steven (Margaret) of Salinas, CA, Bruce (Mary) of Newport, OR; and daughter, Laurie of Torrance, CA.
Source: Published in San Diego Union-Tribune on September 4, 2011
