Chikara Masuda (Yamasaki) – Later Life

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“After the war, his family moved to Morgan Hill to grow strawberries for Driscoll.  My parents were married on July 17, 1949, and had 5 children--- two daughters and 3 sons.  

 

My maternal grandmother had two daughters, and no sons to carry on the family name, so on Aug 17, 1949, he legally changed his last name from Masuda to Yamasaki.  I think this was not unusual in Japanese families back then.  

 

My parents raised strawberries for Driscoll while we lived in Gilroy, CA.  In 1966, our family moved to San Jose, CA, and he became a gardener.  He had a stroke on Jan 1, 1986, and was forced to retire from gardening.  My father passed away from a heart attack on July 8, 1993, when he was 74 years old.” 

 

--  Daughter Karen Chang