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| Roy T. Ishikawa |
Roy Takami Ishikawa (Poston 211-13-G) was born on February 2,
1916 on Rindge Tract, near Stockton, California to Japanese immigrant parents, Shinju
and Sato (Ihara) Ishikawa from Kumage-gun, Kojiro-mura, Yamaguchi-ken, Japan. The Ishikawa
family farmed in the Sacramento River Delta, and the entire family moved to
Yanai-shi, Yamaguchi-ken, Japan in 1917. As a youth growing up in Japan, Roy was a
long-distance swimmer and held a record for a 12-year old boy swimming from his
hometown of Obatake to Oshima Island. His parents, Shinju and Sato Ishikawa, were married
in 1911, raised three children in California, and five daughters, born in Japan.
Roy was 15 years old in May of 1931 when
he returned from Japan entering the U.S. at Angel Island. He resettled in San Francisco and worked as a
“school boy, ” and sold newspapers and delivered dry-cleaning for a
Japanese-owned cleaners. He boarded at the YMCA on
Sutter Street, and later at the Kashu Hotel. Roy married the love of his life, Edna Mary Sakoda whom he met in San Francisco's Japantown, when she walked past the garage where he was working. He was immediately captivated and gave her with a white gardenia. Roy and Edna eloped on August 21, 1940, and took a train from Oakland to Reno and married at the justice of the peace in Washoe County, Nevada. They continued to live at the Kashu Hotel in San Francisco, while Roy attended bartender’s school. He was offered a job at the Ginza Restaurant before he finished the school.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Roy
and Edna Ishikawa were forcibly evacuated to the Salinas Assembly Center. After a few months, together they were
imprisoned at a U.S concentration camp in Poston, Arizona. They arrived at Poston camp 2 on July 4,
1942. While at Poston, the couple had two pet dogs, "Ichiro" and "Sherry". Roy taught his wife to
play golf at the Poston 2 golf course. Roy and Edna left Poston,
Arizona on May 29, 1945 and resettled in Cleveland, Ohio.
In the 1950's the Roy and Edna Ishikawa moved to Monterey
County in California. For most of his life, Roy was a resident of Carmel for
the past 44-years, and a member of the El Estero Presbyterian Church, the
Carmel Orchid Society, and the Japanese American Citizens' League. Roy enjoyed
baseball, golf, and gardening.
Roy Ishikawa, resident of Carmel, California, died on August 13, 2012 at the age of 96. He was preceded in death by his parents, Shinju and Sato Ishikawa; wife, Edna Ishikawa (2002); and six sisters.
Roy Ishikawa, resident of Carmel, California, died on August 13, 2012 at the age of 96. He was preceded in death by his parents, Shinju and Sato Ishikawa; wife, Edna Ishikawa (2002); and six sisters.
He is survived by his daughters, Susan, and
Rona (George); sons, Curtis (Cherise), James, and Troy; granddaughter, Whitney; and
sister, Misue Imazu of Japan.
Sources: The Monterey Herald on August 17, 2012
Sources: The Monterey Herald on August 17, 2012
http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2011/11/24/coming-of-age-1/
http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2011/12/1/coming-of-age-2/
http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2011/12/08/coming-of-age-3/
