OTAKE, EDWARD KAZUO passed away comfortably October 25 in Walnut Creek, Calif. with his wife and children by his side. He was 85 years old and resided in Concord, Calif. Born in Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii he attended school in Hiroshima and Tokyo, and returned to Oahu to complete his high school education. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he was among the first groups stationed in Tokyo serving as a Military Intelligence Service linguist during the WWII occupation period. After the war, he gained his civil engineering degree at Illinois Institute of Technology; married; had children; and after 30+ years of devoted service and numerous accolades, retired from the U.S. National Park Service as the Chief of the Division of Engineering and Maintenance for the Western Regional Office.

As a member of the Tri-State Buddhist Temple in Denver, Colo., he served as board vice-president and basketball coach; and was a member of the Japanese American Religious and Cultural Center in Concord, Calif. In his early retirement, he escorted Japanese dignitaries to U.S. National Parks as a contractor for the federal government; played golf with friends and the Concord Dai-Ichi Golf club; had Oakland A’s season tickets; and traveled with his wife. In his later years, he was a keen ping pong player and entertaining guy at the Concord Senior Center; and expert harmonica player and yard cleaner at home with family. He loved sushi and dim sum.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Miyuki; sister Florence Masunaga of Pearl City, Hawaii; sons and daughter, Raymond, Julia and James and their spouses; four grandchildren; and nieces, nephews and cousins in Hawaii and Japan. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Masayoshi of Waialua, Hawaii; Hiroshi of Ueda, Japan; and Dr. Susumu of Pearl City, Hawaii.

His memorial service will be held at the J.A. Religious and Cultural Center, 3165 Treat Blvd., Concord, CA 94518 on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 at 3 p.m.