Alan Tsutomu Sugiyama

Alan Tsutomu Sugiyama passed away January 2, 2017 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He will be remembered as a loving dad, doting grandfather, loyal and lifelong friend to many, activist, and inspiration to us all. A proud Seattle native, Alan was born on September 10, 1949 to Sansaku and Susan Sugiyama, the youngest of five children. Alan attended Bailey Gatzert Elementary, Washington Junior High, and Garfield High School, proud class of 1968. After high school, Alan went on to Seattle Central Community College and then the University of Washington. As a college student, Alan led and participated in many different protests and demonstrations to call attention to issues of inequity and racism against Asian Americans. Although Alan would talk about his trouble in school and was never the greatest speller even decades later, he, perhaps ironically, co-founded the Asian Family Affair (AFA) newspaper which is where he met his future wife, Kathy Tagawa. In 1973, Alan and Kathy were married and continued their roles in community activism and the AFA. From trips to Hawaii and Mexico, and road trips along the coast to California, Alan and Kathy loved traveling together. Both would fondly recall these trips as some of their most memorable vacations. Many of their adventures and travels included their nieces and nephews and after these “trial run” kids, Alan and Kathy welcomed daughter Mari in 1983 and daughter Alysa arrived in 1987. By this time, Alan was busy leading his own non-profit agency Center for Career Alternatives (CCA), founded in 1979, where he diligently served as executive director for thirty years. Raising the girls on Beacon Hill and after enrolling Mari in Seattle Public Schools, Alan decided to run for the school board. He was the first Asian American elected to the board in 1989 where he served two terms until 1997. To his daughters, Alan was coach, short order breakfast cook, BBQ extraordinaire, and career advisor. They happily remember the days when Alan would purchase cases of cookies to deliver to the schools in his region (with the girls getting the extras!) When Mari and Alysa embarked on career paths that led them to working in public schools, they were always proud to encounter people who still knew and recalled memories of their dad and his time on the school board. After leaving CCA in 2010, Alan spent a few years as a consultant, or as Kathy would clarify, “unemployed.” When Kathy fell ill in 2012 with her own bout of cancer, Alan’s “unemployment” allowed him to care for her in the last few months of her life. Just a few short months after Kathy’s passing, Alan was selected as the new executive director for the Executive Development Institute (EDI). As executive director, Alan truly enjoyed the new experiences with each EDI cohort. It seemed to be the perfect progression from his time at CCA and working with clients in need of basic job skills, to now working with professionals in pursuit of greater leadership development. Even when diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which spread to the pancreas, in September 2014, Alan continued in his position at EDI. After much thought and amidst intense chemotherapy sessions, Alan stepped down from his role in 2015, but maintained his involvement as executive director emeritus up until his passing. With his treatments being every other week and with his fighting spirit and positive outlook about how chemotherapy was keeping him alive, Alan was not one to deviate from the busy schedule he had maintained his entire life. He set up a number of meetings and gatherings on his “off weeks” from chemotherapy, so much so that it was sometimes difficult to track him down! During two years of chemotherapy, Alan remained fierce and upbeat. Typical of his “go get ‘em” attitude, numerous people recall Alan reaching out to them during their own cancer treatments and offering encouragement. Two years after his initial diagnosis, one which did not have a favorable prognosis, nor did it have statistics or typical treatment measures for doctors to refer to, Alan finally convinced himself, at the prodding of his daughters and oncologist Dr. Soma, to take a celebratory trip to Hawaii. On November 4th, as he was tying his shoes to go for an early morning run, Alan fell in his hotel room. In the Hilo Hospital, doctors found a large tumor in his brain, as well as two smaller tumors. Once home in Seattle, Alan was immediately admitted to Swedish Hospital Cherry Hill where he underwent two brain surgeries. The days and nights were long, recovery was difficult, and the usual indomitable spirit of Alan was starting to falter. Thankfully, family members and close friends stepped in to help provide comfort and assistance to Alan as he tackled each day. No one was more supportive or helpful than brother-in-law Eugene Tagawa. When things got especially tough for Alan, Eugene was his go-to guy who provided much strength and reassurance until the very end. In the last few months of Alan’s life, nieces Tracy and Annie flew up from California to help him in the hospital, and niece Sheri was a weekly helper dedicating many hours to being by her Uncle Al’s side during some of his most difficult moments. When he passed away, Alan was surrounded by family and dear friends. Alan is survived by daughters Mari (Adam Woolverton) and Alysa (Adam Kong); siblings Glenn (Corey), Steve (Carol), and Dick (Jan). He is also survived by granddaughter Kaia Woolverton whom he lovingly called “Hiya Kaia;” numerous nieces and nephews; and a large extended family. Alan was preceded in death by his parents; former wife Kathy; and sister Carole Burrus. Even after his passing, Alan’s impact on those around him was evident. While standing outside his hospital room, his nurses came by to offer sympathies to the family. They shared how much it was their pleasure and privilege to care for him and commented on how nice he was. Even in his weakened state, Alan still tried to call people by name and wanted to do what he could to listen to the nurses and their orders. Throughout this entire ordeal, the one person Alan relied on most was his oncologist, Dr. Soma, of the Swedish Cancer Institute. The calm resolve of Dr. Soma perfectly balanced Alan’s “take charge” attitude, even when fighting for his life. The family is grateful to Dr. Soma, nurse Carrie, and Gus for their care of Alan, as he always held them in high regard. Although we all wish we had just a little more time with Alan, one of his common phrases, in addition to “right on to the right on,” was “that’s just the way it goes.” We love you, Dad. A public memorial service is scheduled for Sunday, January 29th at 2pm at Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center.