Herbert Setsuzo Kadowaki

Herbert (OJ) Setsuzo Kadowaki, age 94, fought the good fight, finished the course, kept the faith, and gained his crown of righteousness on 13 February 2025 at his home in Cantonment, Florida with his family by his side. OJ was born in San Francisco, California as the son of immigrant parents, but returned to Japan shortly after his birth and would spend the next 17 years in Kyoto, Japan. He would experience the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire with the news of Japanese victories in the Pacific mesmerizing the nation, but the reality of malnutrition and depravity painted a different picture. Ultimately the unstoppable Allied war machine and the game changing introduction of the atomic bomb to the battlefield brought Japan to its knees. It also gave OJ the chance to return to America as he looked to be reunited with his father and younger siblings, as his mother had passed away in labor with his younger brother Robert. Upon arrival, OJ experienced hardship and discrimination as did many other Japanese Americans in a post-World War II United States. Like so many other immigrants, he answered the call to service, enlisting in the U.S. Army where he was an honor graduate from Basic and Advanced Artillery training. He would go on to serve in the 500th Military Intelligence Group as a linguist. Following his Army service, he began a career as a Government Civilian that would span 30 years. His first assignment was as a Cartographer with the Defense Mapping Agency and would then move into the Personnel Management world. He would serve in a variety of roles, first as Director of Civilian Personnel at Naval Air Station (NAS) Atsugi, Japan, NAS Whiting Field, and with the Army in Frankfurt, Germany before ultimately retiring from NAS Pensacola. OJ’s education included a Bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University and a Master’s degree from Troy State University. Though his journey as a lifelong learner never ended with formal education and included classes at UWF up until just weeks before his passing. OJ was a child of God, as a member of the East Brent Baptist Church before joining Hillcrest Baptist Church. He was active in the community serving as a board member of the Japanese-American Society of Northwest Florida and served as an interpreter/translator with the UWF-Japan Student Exchange Program. He was also an interpreter/translator for the Naval Aviation Museum’s Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Symposiums that saw a rare exchange between Zero Pilots and American Flyers who participated in the battles. OJ was an avid skier, serving as the President of the Pensacola Ski Club, and tipped his skis over mountains in the Rockies, Canada, and Europe. He was also an avid golfer and a fixture at the UWF Aquatic Center where he would swim mile after mile for 30 plus years as a regular at the pool each week. Not one to leave things to chance, OJ penned his Memoir in 2007, capturing his family’s incredible journey to this country and how they made their way in America. This included OJ’s ancestral samurai lineage that dated back to the 16th century, and his grandfather’s entry into America in 1903 as an unskilled laborer, starting a family journey that was full of hope and hardship. Racial inequality, lack of social status, and limited job prospects made America’s promise as the land of opportunity seem a distant hope. The Samurai Spirit of loyalty, courage, and forgiveness nonetheless endured. As a young man, OJ’s Samurai Spirit would be tested when he was broadly denied access based solely on his race; everything from swimming pools to water fountains meant for “whites only”, to a marriage license, and fair employment. Through it all, the Kadowaki family still embraced their new nation with multiple generations of service that included OJ’s brother Robert’s service in Vietnam, where he received a Silver Star and Purple Heart, and his son Jay, a retired Navy Captain. The Kadowaki’s battle cry of Gambatte-Go For It and You Can Do It-was a center piece for the family that received equal billing to his favorite motto: Plan the Work, Work the Plan! OJ was preceded in death by his wife of 31 years, Shirley Rae Feffaa of St Louis, Missouri; sister Mae Marshall; and brother Robert Kadowaki. He is survived by his longtime friend and companion, Dr. Ann Beck of Pensacola, Florida, his brother William Reiji (Mieko) Kadowaki of Hiroshima, Japan, daughter Marilyn (Christopher) Osen of Boydton, Virginia, and son Jay (Sara) Kadowaki of San Diego, California, and proud Ojiichan (OJ) of six grandchildren, Patrick (Sara) and Benjamin (Serena) Osen; Lindsay, Alison, Jackson, and Mitchell Kadowaki. In lieu of flowers or donations, please go out into the world and be curious, kind, and learn something new every day!

Tributes

Herbert Setsuzo Kadowaki

April 1, 1930 - February 13, 2025