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Keijiro Yazawa, MD, passed away on October 8, 2024, two weeks short of his 88th birthday in Chiba, Japan. He was born on October 26, 1936 in Tokyo. He graduated from Nippon Medical School, where in his third year, he threw away his Japanese medical books and studied only from textbooks in English. He secured an internship at Tachikawa US Air Force Base and completed his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Case Western University, one of the first Japanese nationals to do so. His sense of adventure led him and his family to Hawaii, where he spent 50+ years in OB/GYN practice, caring for a large Japanese national and local population while also contributing regularly to Japanese medical journals and speaking at Japanese medical conferences. He reached out to colleagues across the US, Japan and Europe, making friends whom he would visit and travel with throughout his life. He was humble and generous with his time and knowledge. He was a mentor to many. He and his wife, Kayoko, established the Yazawa Family Endowment Fund at the University of Hawaii John A Burns School of Medicine as a thank you for educating his three children who all became physicians. Keijiro spent several years as a Medical Corps officer in the US Army Reserves, joining in part to connect with his son who had his own military career after graduating from West Point. Among his many other interests were: reading and traveling widely, the arts, Zen meditation, hiking and biking. With his family, he was kind, patient, funny and wise. When we gathered weekly for Sunday dinner, he would always raise a glass and proclaim, “Happy Sunday!" He loved classical music and sweets. He loved to soak in the bath in the evenings, reading the newspaper and eating oranges. He spent his last days listening to Schubert. Keijiro was predeceased by his brother, Tomitaro. He is survived by his wife Kayoko, sister Motoko, children: Albert Yazawa (Rae), Akiko Yazawa (Richard Ricardo), Mikiko Bunn (Andrew), and grandchildren: Jack and Kristen Yazawa, Maya and Hina Ricardo, Chris and Anna Bunn. The family wishes to thank the staff of Good Time Living, Chiba-Minato, for their most attentive and compassionate care at the end of his life. We also wish to thank our closest family in Hawaii, Dr Mitsuaki “Skip” Suzuki and his wife Itsuko, son Erie (Tamami) and daughter Rika (Manning) for their lifelong friendship to our family and their generous and loving support over the past year. A funeral service was held in Chiba, Japan on October 15, 2024. A private family remembrance will be held in Honolulu at a later date. |
