Helen Kawagoe
Helen Kawagoe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Helen Sadako Fukutaki August 30, 1927 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 6, 2020 (age 92) Gardena, California, U.S. |
| Occupations | Community leader, elected official |
| Known for | National president, Japanese American Citizens League |
Helen Sadako Kawagoe (August 30, 1927 – April 6, 2020) was an American community leader and city official. She was national president of the Japanese American Citizens League, and city clerk of Carson, California.
Early life
Kawagoe was born in Pasadena, California, one of the thirteen children of Suezo Fukutaki and Ayako Hira Fukutaki.[1] Her parents were immigrants from Okayama Prefecture,[2] and ran a laundry. As an American of Japanese parentage, she was incarcerated at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona from 1942 to 1945, along with her widowed mother and siblings.[3]
Career
Kawagoe and her husband ran a flower nursery in Carson, from 1962 to 1971. She served on the city's planning commission and was vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce before she was elected[4] and re-elected[5] to ten terms as city clerk of Carson, from 1974 to 2011.[6] She was a delegate to the National Women's Conference in 1977.[7] She was president of the City Clerks department of the League of California Cities from 1979 to 1980, president of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks from 1986 to 1987,[8] and president of Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials (APAMO) in 1996. From 1996 to 2000, Kawagoe was the elected national president of the Japanese American Citizens League.[9] From 2004 to 2011, she was a member of the National League of Cities' advisory council.[3]
In 1994 Kawagoe was named an Outstanding Woman of Los Angeles County, and Municipal Clerk of the Year by the California Municipal Clerks Association.[10] In 2013, the City Council chambers of Carson were named for Kawagoe.[11][12]
The Japanese government named Kawagoe as a recipient of the Order of the Precious Crown, Apricot, in 1993.[13] She served on the boards of the Japanese American National Museum, the CSU Dominguez Hills Foundation, and the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation.[3]
Personal life
Helen Fukutaki married Takeshi Kawagoe in 1947. Their only daughter, Kathryn, died from brain cancer in childhood.[13] Her husband died in 1992,[13] and Kawagoe remarried to Stanley H. Yanase in 2005. Her second husband died in 2007. Kawagoe survived a debilitating stroke in 2011, and died in 2020, at the age of 92, at a nursing home in Gardena.[14][15]
References
- ^ "Birth notices". Pasadena Star-News. September 7, 1927. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Birthdate, parents' names and birthplaces, from Ayako Fukutaki's 1953 naturalization record, National Archives, via Ancestry.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Helen Kawagoe, Former JACL President and Longtime City Clerk of Carson". Rafu Shimpo. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Arnold, Roxane (March 6, 1974). "Carson incumbents win, Kawagoe elected clerk". The Daily Breeze. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Janson, Alan (April 10, 1994). "Incumbents say experience makes difference". The Daily Breeze. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sato, Dale Ann (2009). Japanese Americans of the South Bay. Arcadia Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7385-5961-2.
- ^ American Women on the Move. National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. 1977.
- ^ "IIMC Past Presidents" International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
- ^ "Past National Presidents", Japanese American Citizens League.
- ^ "Past Municipal Clerks of the Year", California Municipal Clerks Association.
- ^ Yamamoto, J. K. (2013-04-01). "For Kawagoe, a Dream Come True". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ "Helen Kawagoe Council Chambers Dedicated". Rafu Shimpo. 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ a b c Yokoi, Iris (1994-02-03). "Carson: Japan's Government Honors City Clerk for Goodwill Work". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ "Helen Kawagoe, Two-Time JACL National President, Dies at 92". Pacific Citizen. 2020. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ^ Doi, Lisa (May 2020). "JACL Chicago Recalls Lillian Kimura and Helen Kawagoe" (PDF). JACLer (139): 10.
External links
- Kawagoe in 1997, giving a speech on cities and immigration at the National League of Cities meeting in Philadelphia, via C-Span Video Library
- Carson Citizens for Reform vs. Kanagoe (2009), a decision of the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 5, California, at FindLaw