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Harry Hatasaka Obituary
May 9, 1929 - June 12, 2022
The Hatasaka, Blackburn, and Ainsley Families, with sadness and love, share the passing of our dearly loved husband, father, grandpa, brother and uncle, on June 12, 2022 in Palo Alto, his treasured hometown for over 60 years.
He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Sadako (Matsushita); beloved children Leslie Lynne Blackburn (Stuart), Harry Hideo, Jr. (Julia), Mark Teizo and Kimberley Anne Ainsley (Matthew); adored grandchildren Michael Blackburn, Matthew Blackburn, Megan Hatasaka, Bryan Hatasaka, and Alyssa Ainsley; as well as loved siblings Lorina, Sam, Stanley, Sharon, and many nieces and nephews.
Harry was born in Fort Lupton, CO and was humbly raised on a farm in Brighton, CO with seven siblings. He was the first of the family to attend college and after graduating from the University of Colorado in 1950, he crisscrossed the country in pursuit of higher education. Upon completion of dental school at Northwestern University in Chicago, he met and married Sadako "Cyd" Matsushita in 1954. Together they moved to Baltimore, MD, Honolulu, HI, and San Leandro, CA while Harry served in Public Health Services with the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1958, the family moved to Seattle, WA, where Harry completed an MSD in Orthodontics at the University of Washington School of Dentistry.
In 1960, Harry and Cyd set roots in Palo Alto, where Harry became one of the city's first orthodontists. In that wonderful community, they raised their four children and lived in the same house for the next 60 years. Harry enjoyed a successful and productive orthodontic career spanning 40 years, of which during the latter 11 he specialized in treating Myofascial Pain Disorders (including TMJ). He was dedicated to the advancement of orthodontics and ongoing education and lectured internationally. As a clinical associate professor, he taught and mentored students at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry for 50 years, starting from the inception of the program in 1970. He was a member and/or served with numerous orthodontic societies: American Association of Orthodontists, the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists, Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists (President 1988-89), Peninsula Orthodontic Research Group (PORG, founding member), Tweed International Foundation of Orthodontics, just to name a few.
Harry loved the outdoors, zealously pursuing his favorite pastimes with family and friends, including snow skiing, camping and fishing. He arranged numerous fly-fishing adventures to the Caribbean, Amazon, Mexico and Alaska. He spent countless hours cultivating vegetables and flowers in his expansive garden. In addition, he was active in community service and coached Little League & Babe Ruth Baseball teams; he volunteered with the Optimist Club; he served as Governor of the Japanese American Citizens League (NorCa/W-NV region), and he participated in the annual "Mochitsuke". He was THE quintessential fan of all the Bay Area sports teams, holding season tickets for the San Jose Sharks and the San Francisco 49ers. He attended many games at Candlestick Park and was present when the Giants played the Oakland As during the 1989 World Series playoffs when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck. He witnessed the SF Giants win three World Series games and excitedly cheered the Golden State Warriors to the 2022 NBA Championship during his last days.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Aldersgate Methodist Church, 4243 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto, CA. Casual "Hatasaka Hawaiian" attire (Hawaiian aloha/fishing shirts and/or favorite sports or team jersey & caps). Bento box lunch will be served following the service. This is a gentle reminder that masks are required when indoors. Outdoor seating will be available; however, due to the highly-contagious COVID variants, masks are recommended outdoors as well. A live feed will also be available via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85152277818 - Meeting ID: 851 5227 7818
Please RSVP attendance to [email protected]
At the family's request, in lieu of flowers, please send memorials to:
Aldersgate United Methodist Church [4243 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306] or
The University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni Orthodontic Endowed Scholarship Fund, dentalgifts.org.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Harry Hatasaka
4 Entries
Liza Lee
April 13, 2025
It is with such utter sadness to hear of Dr. Hatasaka passing nearly 3 years ago. I did not know his dear family members as I was just a TMJ patient of his in 2006. He successfully treated me for almost 2 years, and was one of the kindest medical practitioners I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Truly a great loss for anyone who has known him. His office staff was wonderful too.
I don't know if his family will come across my message, but in case they do I want them to know that he is remembered for what is good in our world. He had such a caring, gentle kindness and sincerity about him. He was remarkably thorough with his work and cared about the well-being of his patients. I brought my child with me on one visit when he was just around a year old, and since then, Dr. H has always asked about how he was doing. He gave me a little finger puppet to give to my son and we've held onto it for years. Reading this obituary is when I realized the day Dr. H passed was also the weekend I donated our toys because we were moving. It feels strangely symbolic that we were coincidentally letting go. That day, I held onto the finger puppet for some time as I contemplated putting it into our donation box and it felt bittersweet. I was going through difficult times, but the thought of having gotten to know Dr. H always brought a warm smile to my face and I'm glad to know I thought of him that fateful day.
My deepest sympathies to his family.
Liza Lee
Diane Chase
October 30, 2022
It is with sadness that I read tonight of Dr. Hatasaka's passing. Of course I regret not keeping in touch when I left Palo Alto many years ago after having had the wonderful opportunity to work with him as a Shiatsu therapist for his many TMJ patients. We tried out the combination of massage and TMJ splints and care and it worked very well. I returned to New Mexico for a relationship that didn't last and I knew Dr. H didn't trust the situation.
Mrs..Hatasaka, Cyd, I remember your kindness to me always.
I send heartfelt sympathies and love to you and your family.
With fond remembrances and the reminder to keep in touch with those special people we meet in our lives.
Sincerely and with deepest sympathy,
Diane Chase
Dr Terry Cotterell
August 20, 2022
What a magnificent man! Caring and intuitive and scientifically ahead of his time. He taught us, his students, with wisdom and compassion.
He loaned me his personal typodont for me to take the specialty board in my state, who does that! My confidence soared, and I excelled. Many times in my professional life I recalled the truths spoken by Dr. Harry Hatasaka. And he and his wife graced us at our wedding in Hawaii, by being our best man, and Cyd taking a million pictures and gifting us with a gorgeous album.
I can´t say enough about how this man influenced my life as an orthodontist, by imparting technical knowledge, insight, and integrity. Love you Harry and Cyd
Aiko Dorothy Yamamoto
August 19, 2022
It's always too soon to lose a loved one. Our sympathies to the family. Cyd, I am Dorothy that worked for Dr. Blaine Clements in his orthodontic office for over 10 years. So sorry to hear the sad news of Harry's passing. Be well!
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