Jun 28 2005
Tamio (Tom) Shirata
My father-in-law Tamio “Tom” Shirata passed away on March 28, 2005. He had a heart attack while swimming - the thing that he loved to do every morning.Tom was an incredible guy. The man had friends - hundreds of them. His funeral was a testimony to the kind of Godly man that he was. I was amazed by the number of friends that he had made when he first moved to DC from Salt Lake City, Utah back in the early 50’s, that were still close personal friends. These men weren’t just his golfing buddies, but had been prayer partners that entire time. These guys had prayerfully watched over one another for longer than I have been alive and that just blows my mind.Here are the words that I spoke that day:
9 years ago I met Tom and Donna when I started dating Robin. At the time I was financially strapped and recently divorced with 2 children. Just the kind of guy every father wants their daughter bringing home. Knowing the fine prospective beau that I portrayed (tattoos and earring), I was needless to say very nervous of ever meeting them. Robin just reminded me last night how she tricked me into meeting her folks for the first time. While she had me as a captive passenger in her car, she just happened to need to stop by their house. For all my apprehensions Tom and Donna were both gracious and made me feel very welcome in their home. 6 months later I nervously approached Tom for his permission to ask for Robin’s hand in marriage. Tom’s concern however wasn’t on outward appearances or my financial status; his concern lay in 3 simple questions. Was I a believer in Jesus Christ, did I love his daughter and did I make her happy?
In this tumultuous world, Tom’s acceptance of me into his home was a gift of grace I had not expected but it was certainly what I longed for. Over the years I came to realize that Tom’s easy acceptance of me wasn’t all that extraordinary, at least not for Tom. More often than not Tom looked for the good in those around him, and in so doing sometimes helped us find the good in ourselves. While grace was more a quiet gift of Tom’s his real gift and the one that made the strongest impression on me was his servant’s heart. Tom loved to do things for people, especially when power tools were required. Whether working in the shop in his backyard or tinkering around the church he was always willing to drop what he was doing in order to lend a hand.
Tom’s greatest joys in life always included people; whether going on trips with Donna, golfing with his buddies, worshipping with the church, or having dinner with his grand-children, Tom enjoyed the company of others. Besides his brother and sister, many of you knew Tom for longer than I’ve been alive. I find that fact remarkable and the most obvious tribute to the kind of man Tom was.
A Japanese adage goes, “When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.†Life’s ledger doesn’t have a dollar sign in front of it. It’s made up of the number of lives that we touch, and as I look out, at the number of you gathered here today, it is obvious that Tom was a very wealthy man.
In the words of Gen. Patton,
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
Dad, you’re greatly missed but we know you finally got to the reward that you worked your entire life to achieve.
