George Wakiji passed away peacefully Sunday, May 7, in his apartment at Nikkei Senior Gardens in Arleta, Calif.

George was a man of many interests and talents, including his love of jazz music. After being drafted in November of 1950, he served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, receiving his honorable discharge in September of 1952. He then attended UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles, getting bachelor's degrees in pre-social welfare and journalism. During his time at UCLA, George participated in Project India, which sparked a lifelong love of travel. George visited many countries, including Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Jordan, Israel, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, India, Morocco, Tunisia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, plus other places such as Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

George started his career at TWA (Trans World Airlines) in Los Angeles as a cargo handler, reservations sales agent and international sales agent, then transferred to New York City, where he was an international sales agent, supervisor and sales trainer. George moved to Chicago to work as a public relations executive, then as principal for Suzuki, Wakiji & Associates, an advertising, pubic relations and marketing firm. Between jobs he worked as a bartender at Kamehachi restaurant. In 1972, George began his government career, first as regional public information officer for ACTION, a federal volunteer agency, for the Midwest region. He was promoted to press officer for ACTION in Washington, D.C. in October of 1975. In October of 1986, George joined the U.S. Peace Corps as a country director for the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific. He returned to the United States in 1990 and competed his term with the Peace Corps as a minority recruitment specialist in Washington, D.C. George later served as public information officer with the U.S. Department of Labor in the Employment and Training Administration. He retired from government service in March of 1995 to become executive director of the newly formed National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. After retirement from JAMF, George worked part-time for FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and went on assignments to Maine, Oklahoma, Florida and Texas during disasters. He also worked at Kohl's and Crate & Barrel in Alexandria, Virginia. In his free time, George spent time speaking to elementary, high school and college students in Virginia and Maryland about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Since 2000, George served as a part-time proctor for final exams at Pepperdine University School of Law.

George is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Dana (Tom); sister, Takeko; nieces Hisae, Misako, Kathleen, Vivian, Eileen and Geraldine; nephew Ken.

All friends and family members are welcome to come celebrate George's life on Monday, May 15 at 11 a.m. at Fukui Mortuary, 707 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.