Jeffrey Hackler recalled that as the Vietnam War was going on back then, “Dave Coon would meet with anyone who wanted, under the library in a small town-hall setting. He sat in his chair and talked about the problems we were having as juniors and seniors about the Vietnam War. Here was a man with character. Here was a man we could trust. And I hope that our next Head of School would have the same characteristics and qualities we could find in Dave Coon.” It was nice to see our out-of-town classmates Ernest and Diane Kam and Howard and Jo- Anne Matsuba , who all came from California. Several classmates were on trips and couldn’t make the dinner, but that didn’t stop Dennis Nagata, who flew in that morning from Japan, from attending, jet lag or not. Others there included Dale Nishikawa and Helen Chang , Mitchell Chun, Wayne Fujita, Keith Fujio, Elton Fukumoto, Bob Kamemoto, Kenney Krumm and Cheri Kato, Lloyd and Fay Nishimoto, Leslie Oshita , Scott Shimabukuro, Bob Shimizu, Jed and Eva Taba, Cyrus Tamashiro, Patrick Taomae, Donn Tokairin , Allen Wong and Ross Yokoyama. Randall Hayashi brought his longtime skiing pal, MaryAnne Mark, who was visiting the island. Her father, Philip Mark, was a 1945 graduate of ‘Iolani and attended when the school was located in Nu‘uanu. We played a trivia contest developed by Bob Shimizu with a bit of help from me. Bob’s questions received a lot of groans as they were quite a challenge for our memory. One of his questions was: “‘Iolani’s baseball team won the 1971 State Championship. What other 1971 ‘Iolani team won a State Championship in that same year?” The answer was ‘Iolani’s tennis team. And it was an easy answer for Mitchell Chun , who was a member of the 1971 championship team, along with missing attendees Francis Chung, Guy Grace, Sidney Kamm, Clarence Kelley (deceased), Forrest Lum (deceased), and Bruce Masatsugu. We also asked: “Who were five of the seven classmates on the 1971 State Championship baseball team?” The answers were Kenney Krumm and Patrick Taomae , and missing attendees Glenn Kunihisa, George Nip, Keith Oda, Curtis Thane, and Peter Yagi (manager). The trivia contest first-place winner was Cyrus Tamashiro, followed by runners-up
Elton Fukumoto, Howard Matsuba, Keith Fujio, and Donn Tokairin . I closed the evening with my thank you and remembrances of all reunions. We are very fortunate to have a great group of classmates who have hung together for the 53 years since we graduated.Thank you to everyone who has helped plan and attend our many class events over the years, including reunions every five years — locally here in Honolulu as well as several in Las Vegas and one in San Francisco — working at the Family Fair Hawaiian Food booth all these years, annual golf tournaments until COVID-19 hit, parties at Dale Nishikawa’s home on Family Fair weekends and after golf tournaments, and a wine-tasting party at Wai‘alae Country Club. A huge mahalo to Dale Nishikawa for making all the arrangements for this dinner at O‘ahu Country Club, as well as providing the wine for the evening and the music of Jim Howard on piano. Additional good news: Neil and Jan Uyemura have returned to live in Hawai‘i after their many years in Portland, Oregon. Welcome home, Neil and Jan! Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2025 — our year, the Year of the Snake! ’ 72 Class Representatives COLIN CHING
To celebrate our reaching the lucky seven- decade milestone, a small committee has organized a 70 th Birthday Bash in Hawai‘i. The date is July 3, 2025, at Natsunoya Tea House. Cocktails, dinner details, and other information will be communicated by email. For those of you we’ve not yet been able to connect with via email, as well as classmates of the Class of 1973 who graduated from other schools, please contact Alan Tamanaha for more information. For those who graduated elsewhere, you may or may not know that by attending ‘Iolani for just one year, you are an ‘Iolani alumnus and still part of the Class of 1973. All of our fellow classmates and their spouses or significant others are invited to the Birthday Bash to celebrate as a class of 70 year olds. Those living away from Hawai‘i should look for travel deals and plan a vacation. Come on out and reminisce about the good old days when life was just a matter of waking up and going to school. We had a great 50th Reunion Year and this is just a small excuse to stay connected. We’re hoping for a good turnout. But if we have a monster turnout, we’ll be prepared with a Plan B so we can all party together, even if it’s a tailgate party in a parking lot. Years ago, Chris Johnson left paradise in Hawai‘i and relocated deep in the heart of Texas to pursue a job and different lifestyle in a state where residents don’t pay state income taxes. In 2024, he completed his training in the art of Bushido in Kyoto while traveling in Japan with Guy Kamitaki, Willie Keola, Alan Tamanaha, and Duane Wong . After 16 years in Irving, Texas, he still doesn’t own a 10-gallon hat or a horse, but now there’s a new sheriff in his town. Locals who have seen a samurai movie don’t mess with him.
colching@aol.com (B) 808-391-3201 KENSEY INOUYE kenseye@gmail.com
(B) 808-949-9999 (C) 808-741-1441 ’ 73
Class Representative ALAN TAMANAHA tamanahaa005@hawaii.rr.com (H) 808-677-3380
From Alan Tamanaha : Last year, we were sexagenarians. Yes, sexy 69-year-old folks between the ages of 60 and 69. In 2025, most of us will be septuagenarians, folks who are between the ages of 70 and 79. Hopefully, we’ll one day become octogenarians, nonagenarians, and ultimately centenarians — those 100-year-old buggahs.
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