Ruby Takanishi

      What is a life?   It begins with family.  For Ruby Takanishi, family was her parents, Misae Tokushige and Kazuo Takanishi, Japanese Americans with deep cultural roots that drew meaning, strength and vitality from Hawaii and Japan.  Family was her brother, Claude, and sister-in-law, Wendy.   And family included numerous aunties, uncles, and cousins.  Above all, family was her beloved daughter, Márika Knowles, and son-in-law, Steve Drasco. 

      A life is also a compendium of relationships, cherished friendships, some reaching back to schooldays, some that are near and dear enough to be regarded as family.  Ruby believed in the power of community.  She knit together colleagues and friends from far and wide into strong networks of shared values, commitments and work. 

      Ruby acknowledged the personal importance of this beloved community in her book, First Things First when she wrote:

In the Japanese American community in Hawai’i, the Japanese phrase okage sama de points to the interdependence among individuals that makes any endeavor productive and worthwhile.  Everything we have accomplished involves people who have helped us to be who we are.  The relevant translation here is, I have been able to achieve my aims because you walked with me on my long journey.

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     Ruby lived her ideals and values:  she was the ultimate sensei—an inspired teacher to all whose lives she touched—whose lifelong goal was to make sure that all children had the same opportunities to learn and thrive.

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This site was created in loving memory by the family, friends and colleagues of Ruby Takanishi

celebraterubytakanishi@gmail.com

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