OSU Admissions Blog

About a year ago, former students were brought to campus to take part in commencement to receive their honorary degrees. You may remember previous postings on this in the “At Long Last” series.

Sadly, Jack Yoshihara who attended the ceremony to receive his honorary degree has passed away. On behalf of the the Oregon State University community, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to Jack’s friends and family. He will be greatly missed. Below you see Jack’s obituary from the Oregonian, a photo with former OSU Japanese American Student Association President Kristen Atebara from the Gazette Times, as well as a short video with footage from last year’s honorary degree commencement activities of former ASOSU President talking about Jack and the experience of the executive order internment announcement.

From The Oregonian:

Jack Yoshihara, a longtime Portland resident, passed away on April 20, 2009, in Seattle. He was born in Okayama, Japan on May 1, 1921, and emigrated with his parents from Japan.

A graduate of Benson High School, he attended Utah and Oregon State Universities. Jack received an honorary degree from OSU on June 14, 2008, due to his internment at Minidoka Relocation Center, Idaho, during his college years. He was a member of the 1942 Oregon State Rose Bowl team, but did not play due to wartime travel restrictions. Jack worked in refrigeration, and retired as a member of the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 235. He was an active participant in judo, kendo, sumo, fishing, mushroom hunting and excelled in football. Working in his garden, grooming his bonsai trees and wood carving also provided enjoyment. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elsie Masuda. Jack recently remarried and moved to Edmonds, Wash., where he is survived by his wife, Mary Arai; her daughter, Stephanie Ulstein of Bellevue, Wash.; sister, Misa Minagi of Portland; son, Jay Yoshihara of Portland; daughter, Lynn Kanaya of Gig Harbor, Wash.; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. There will be no service, as his spirit will be kept alive by many kind thoughts. Remembrances may be sent to the Oregon State Beaver Athletic Student Fund or the Ikoi No Kai Senior Hot Lunch Program in Portland.

[photo from The Gazette Times]

Former ASOSU President talks about Jack and the executive order announcement of the internment.

–mko

Related posts:

1. OSU Gives Honorary Degrees to Japanese Americans
2. At Long Last: Japanese American WWII-era OSU Students Receive Honorary Degrees
3. Meet the Students Behind the Japanese American WWII-era Honoree Degree Ceremony

Tags: 4066, 9033, Honorary Degree, JASA, oregon-state-university, OSU

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 4:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.