Walter T. Akita

1935 - 2024

Walter T Akita

March 24, 1935 - August 6, 2024

Walter Tadashi Akita passed away peacefully in the early morning of August 6, 2024. His wife Marge, son Mark and daughter-in-law Julie were there with him at Sakura Gardens, the assisted living facility where Walter and Marge have been living since May 2023.

Walter had been in declining health during the last six months as his body started to fail him. Throughout the process he maintained his sense of humor and his feistiness, always doing the best he could while listening to what his body was telling him. Ultimately, it told him that this was one fight he could not win.

Walter was born on March 24, 1935 in Honolulu Hawaii to Mitsuyoshi and Tomoyo Akita. Walter was the fifth of nine children. The family owned a small grocery store in the Kapahulu section of Honolulu. The Akita Store was a hub of activity for the entire family and most of the children worked there as they got older.

Walter was on the smaller side when he was young and got picked on quite a bit by older, larger kids. He described his younger self as "something of a sad sack." Walter's life and fortunes took a turn for the better when his older sister Nellie met and married Thomas Valentine (Bobby) Lum Ho. Bobby was a military man and a highly skilled boxer. Bobby taught Walter how to box. Walter enthusiastically began boxing, sparring with Bobby and others along with training on both the speed bag and heavy bag. Bobby transformed Walter's life. He became a good enough boxer, and won enough fights, that he stopped getting picked on. It was during this time that Walter developed his martial spirit.

When Walter was 13 or 14, he started taking Judo. He zealously threw himself into Judo training and eventually earned the rank of black belt. At age 17, he started training in Aikido with Tohei-Sensei after an Akita Store customer suggested he try it out. Walter trained diligently and became quite proficient in Aikido as well. His younger brother Richard also took Aikido with him. One of their Aikido classmates was also the Judo Champion of Hawaii. During training one day, that same Judo Champion loudly passed gas when he was thrown by Tohei-Sensei. Walter responded with his loud and distinctive laugh and the Judo Champion was offended and embarrassed so he challenged Walter to a Judo match. The Judo Champion fought dirty and tried to hurt Walter to make a statement to the rest of the class. Walter ended up beating the Judo Champion in that match because as Walter remembered, "He was trying to teach me a lesson and I was fighting for my life!" Many years later, Walter saw the same man walking in his direction in Century City, California. The man recognized Walter and crossed the street to avoid walking directly past him.

Walter also started wrestling in high school. It all started when he was at the YMCA working out and one of the other members began pestering him to come out and wrestle. This continued for a few weeks and eventually the man called Walter a chicken which prompted him to accept the challenge. Walter lost the match and immediately asked the YMCA wrestling coach to train him so he could beat that guy. After two weeks of training, Walter defeated the same guy in a rematch. The combination of Judo, Aikido and strength training helped Walter to quickly develop into a skilled wrestler. After only six weeks of wrestling training, he entered the 1954 Hawaii Territory Championship to represent his coach and the YMCA. Walter finished in second place at 136.5 lbs. Based on his showing, Walter was invited to the US Olympic wrestling trials, but sadly had to refuse because he could not afford to pay his own expenses to compete. Walter finished high school and went to the University of Hawaii to study engineering. In college, he continued to train and work out all while studying and helping out at the Akita Store.

Walter didn't just fight. He also learned to play the trumpet in high school and played in the band. He was good enough that he and some of his classmates would make pocket money on the weekends playing at parties, celebrations and funerals. Walter enjoyed movies, particularly Chambara (Samurai) films. He also enjoyed music and loved to sing, with Danny Boy being one of his favorites. Additionally, he developed a passion for opera that continued throughout his life. Luciano Pavarotti was his favorite opera singer and Walter would listen to Pavarotti and sing along with him in his booming voice. Walter was also a voracious reader. He enjoyed mysteries, historical books, martial arts books and reading about the deeper meaning of life.

In search of better life opportunities, Walter decided to move to Los Angeles in 1957. He got a job as a draftsman with Douglas Engineering. It was the first in a series of engineering jobs. He was continually being laid off since he never had any job seniority. Seeking more stable employment, Walter decided to study to become a stockbroker. He passed the certification test and secured a stockbroker position at Shearson Hammill in 1960. He went on to spend over 32 years at Shearson and its various entities, finally retiring in 1993.

In 1959 Walter met Margaret McEnerney by the pool at his apartment complex when she was there visiting her girlfriend, Ann Connor. Marge went up to the stranger and asked him if he wanted to play Pinochle. Walter's initial response was "Hell no!" as it turned out he didn't know what it was or how to play (it's a card game). Marge was persistent and got Walter to play. Six weeks later they were engaged and a few months after that, they married on December 26, 1959. Their son Mark was born on September 14, 1960. Eric was born on January 25, 1964. Walter and Marge bought their first home in Westchester California in 1965. Walter was a doting father and spent much of his free time with the family playing with his boys. Walter was a DIY sort of person and spent some of his spare time working on the family cars and doing home repairs. He made sure both his sons learned those same skills. He also made sure they learned how to fight.

After Walter retired in 1993, he and Marge decided to leave Los Angeles and move to a smaller town with less traffic and an active lifestyle for seniors. They settled on Corvallis Oregon as it was on the West Coast and close to both Mark in Los Angeles and Eric who was a sergeant in the Army and stationed at Ft. Lewis Washington with the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Initially, they rented a 2-bedroom apartment as they explored Corvallis and the surrounding areas. In 1998, they purchased their home in southern Corvallis. Walter got to work fixing up the house the way he wanted it, painting both the interior and exterior himself and doing some landscaping. Neighbors could often find Walter out in front of the house doing yard work. They very much enjoyed living in that house, in that neighborhood with their neighbors.

In 1994 they experienced a major tragedy when their son Eric went missing on a recreational scuba dive in Gig Harbor Washington. It was a deeply traumatic loss for the entire family, especially for Walter.

Since both Walter and Marge were avid readers, they spent a lot of time at the Corvallis Library. They became friends with some of the library staff and one of them told Walter that part time book shelver jobs were available. Walter applied and was hired in April 2002 and stayed until April 2020 when he grudgingly retired during the pandemic. Walter loved working at the library and made many friends there. He considered it to be the best job he ever had.

Walter relished spending time with Mark and Julie and his grandsons Max and Nicolas. Walter and Marge would get to see their grandsons a couple of times a year. Walter delighted in playing with the boys and taking them out to eat at his favorite Corvallis restaurants like Izzy's, Shari's, Elmer's and New China Buffett, as well as Coco's and Marie Calendars in Los Angeles. Walter would amaze the boys with his ability to drink steaming hot black coffee and the excessive amount of butter he would apply to his pancakes and muffins. Walter also enjoyed attending their school activities and sporting events whenever he was in Los Angeles.

It was during the pandemic that Walter and Mark decided it would be best for Walter and Marge to move back to Los Angeles to be with family. They returned in November 2020 and lived with Mark's family until they moved to Sakura Gardens. While Walter missed his life, library work and friends in Corvallis, he did value spending time with Mark and his family. He was happy he could see his grandsons more often and that he was able to watch them grow up to be fine young men. He appreciated celebrating both Nick's college graduation and Max and Jocelyn's wedding in 2023.

Walter had an interesting spiritual journey. He grew up Buddhist, converted to Catholicism when he married Marge and essentially ended up identifying as a spiritual person. Upon further personal reflection, Walter believed that his true nature and spirit were loving which conflicted with his martial spirit. Ultimately, he was a basic seeker of truth.

Walter was a loyal and trusted friend. He was a dedicated, loving husband, parent and grandfather. He was a fierce protector of his family and friends. The type of guy you would want in your foxhole. Walter believed in personal honor and that his word was his bond and he tried his best to live his life that way. He will be missed.

Walter did not want a funeral service. He was cremated and his ashes will be scattered at a later date. In lieu of flowers, or koden (a Japanese tradition of gifting money for the deceased), a contribution can be made to Walter's favorite charity St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A page has been created for Walter on St Jude's website. The link is listed below:

http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/WalterTadashiAkita.

A contribution has already been made in Walter's name from the Koden previously received.