James Hachiro Tagawa, 87-year-old, Bell born resident of Los Angeles, passed away on November 1, 2020 at his residence.

He is survived by his ex-wife, Sumie Tento Tagawa; his daughters, Linda (Stephen) Sueyoshi and Susan Vasquez; six grandchildren, Allison, Raquel, Nina, Angela, Allyssa, and Jessica; great grandson Anthony; brother George (Hatsue) Tagawa; nephew, Koji (Fujie) Terasawa; and other relatives.

James Hachiro Tagawa was born on November 7, 1932 in Bell, California. He was the youngest of eight children born to Masato Tagawa and Sasayo (Nomura) Tagawa. He and his family moved back to Japan when James was a child and there, they spent most of his younger days. His parents both passed away from pneumonia when he was only 7 years and was raised by his siblings. He often said, "Yoneko and Toyoko were like mothers to me, they took care of me".

I recall father telling us he saw the mushroom cloud from the neighboring island on August 6, 1945. What an awful time that must have been for all. Later, as a young adult, our father moved back to California with his siblings.

One day we asked our father how he met mom. He said he used to work for the Hatanakas when it was a strawberry farm. When he saw mom, he asked my mother's sister, Kiyoko, to introduce them. He told us he thought she was so beautiful. We thought that was sweet. It was not long that our father married Sumie Tento in July of 1961. Father told us that he had plans on opening a nursery with Mom, his brother George, and George's wife, Hatsue, but it did not transpire.

Later, our father worked at Dolly Madison Cakes, maintaining, and repairing the machines at the bakery. He worked there for an impressive 40 years. He told us that he did not want to retire, but they asked him to please retire.

Our father was a member of the Japanese American Photographic Federation. He was also in a karaoke club. We were glad that he attended these clubs. He had many friends and saw many places, but as the years went on, he told us that many of his friends had already passed away. He is probably reunited with them all and is continuing his hobbies with them.

We miss Dad dearly, but we shall all one day be together again.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your condolences and support.

Due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic, a virtual service will be held at a later date.

Please check later on the Fukui Mortuary Webpage.