AROUND THE WORLD IN OHYE DAYS.

AROUND THE WORLD IN OHYE DAYS. [Installment #4] Back in time to make his Tuesday morning golf date, Minoru Ohye returned safely this past weekend from his whirlwind reunion with his brother in Japan from whom he was separated six decades ago. The week-long Thrill of a Lifetime experience sponsored by Eskaton coincided with Ohye’s 86th birthday which he was fortunate to celebrate with his brother Hiroshi.

His Tuesday also included an afternoon reception held in his honor at the State Capitol with Assemblymember Mariko Yamada. Yamada, who chairs the California State Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-term Care, helped organize a fundraiser to support the Thrill and about its success exclaimed, “I am ‘thrilled’ beyond words.” Consul General of Japan Hiroshi Inomata, who helped with the Thrill’s logistics, made a special trip from San Francisco to greet Ohye as well.

[pictured from left: Eskaton’s Suzanne Strassburg, Assemblymember Mariko Yamada, Eskaton’s Debbie Reynolds, guest of honor Mino Ohye, Consul Tomotaka Kuwahara, Consul General Hiroshi Inomata, Consul Takemichi Nagaoka]

Also receiving special recognition at the Capitol event were Suzanne Strassburg, director of Eskaton’s Thrill initiative and this elaborate production; and Debbie Reynolds, administrator of Eskaton Wilson Manor in West Sacramento where Ohye lives. Reynolds initiated the reunion Thrill after learning from Ohye of his extraordinary military record and how his experience as a P.O.W. separated him from his brother.