HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTIONS - 03231993 - 93-128 IN THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of Honoring )
TOM OSHIRO on the Occasion ) RESOLUTION NO. 931 12 8
of His 88th Birthday )
Tom Oshiro was born in Haebaru, Okinawa, on April 10, 1905, and arrived in the United States
in 1918 at age 13. After a brief stay in Imperial Valley, California, Tom was able to move to
San Francisco to further his education. He is a 1929 graduate of Polytechnical High School;
however, due to anti-Japanese sentiment, the only work he could secure was as a houseboy.
This prompted Tom to help establish the San Francisco Chapter of the Japanese American
Citizens League.
Tom married his wife of 55 years, Isabel, in 1938. The Oshiros lived on Isabel's family's
strawberry farm until the outbreak of World War IL On May 25, 1942, they were placed in an
internment camp in Fresno then relocated to a permanent camp in Arkansas later that year.
1943 brought their freedom and their move to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they were employed
as domestics in a private home. Neal, their first child, was born in April of 1945, shortly before
their move back to California. Tom and his family took up residence in Concord in 1948 where
Tom was a gardener/handyman and Isabel worked as a cook. Judith Ann, their second child,
was born in December of 1952. In 1953, Tom was granted United States citizenship.
Tom retired in 1983. Since then, he has been honored as a successful immigrant by the Okinawa
government; was awarded with a certificate of recognition for his longstanding involvement as
a member of the Diablo Valley Chapter of the JACL; and in 1991, was presented with a.
certificate of appreciate from the mayor of Haebaru, Okinawa.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors honors TOM OSHIRO
on the occasion of his 88th birthday. We extend our appreciation for Tom's dedication to his
Japanese heritage and to his community.
PASSED AND ADOPTED ON March 23, 1993, by a unanimous vote of the Board members
present.
Sunne Wright McPea
Tom Powers Jeff• ith
_ l 6W lir c
Gayle Bishop Tom Torlakson, Chair
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of an order entered on the Minutes
of said Board of Supervisors on the aforesaid date.
Witness my hand and the Seal of the Board of
Supervisors affixed this 23rd day of March, 1993.
PHIL BATCHELOR, Clerk of the Board of
Supe rvi ors a ounty Administrator.
By a
Deputy er
Introduced by Supervisor
Sunne Wright McPeak,
District IV