Obituaries

Sayonara

RICHARD MOSS ’39, passed away the morning of July 3, 2019. He passed away peacefully, with his wife of 69 years, his three sons and their spouses present. Richard attended ASIJ from 1927 following the school’s relocation from Azabu to Nakameguro. He was very fond of his years at ASIJ. Being the third generation of an American family in Japan, his family were very involved with the school. Richard and his siblings all attended ASIJ. His father, Robert F. Moss, was chairman of the school for 17 years, where he personally gave Richard and his siblings, Peg ’35 (Margaret Moss Schoenknecht) and Mike ’38 (Howard M. Moss) their diplomas at graduation. Richard’s family history in Japan goes back as far as 1884. His grandfather arrived in Tokyo just 17 years after the Meiji Restoration and five years prior to the enactment of Japan’s

parliamentary constitution. His grandparents settled in Yokohama, where Richard’s mother, Sybil Howard, was born. His father relocated to Japan from Columbia, Missouri in 1910 to work for the Truscon Steel Company. His parents were married in 1912 and shortly after, Richard and his siblings were born. Richard shared many stories of his time at ASIJ. Memories of teachers, exams, basketball games, excursions, Junior and Senior Proms, supper parties, ice skating and frequent tea dances. One of which, on his way to and from the Meguro campus, he would frequently stop at Shibuya station to pat Hachiko the dog as he faithfully waited for his master’s return. After graduating, he attended Amherst College but the course of his life and studies were quickly interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 1942, he was

enrolled in the Naval Japanese Language Program at Boulder, Colorado, instead of spending his senior year in college. Upon graduation he was appointed as a Japanese Language Officer in the Marine Corps on the Pacific front. He returned to Tokyo as part of the American Occupation to find his hometown leveled, the only recognizable element of his house being the two chimneys left standing. After the war he began his career with NCR in New York, later meeting his wife, together making a life for themselves in Latin America. Settling in Ecuador In 1956, he bought out an NCR distributor and began his own business. His experience at ASIJ prepared him well for the international life he would lead, working with an American Corporation, marrying his wife from Paraguay and having three sons, each born in a different country. They settled in Ecuador in 1956 and lived there for over 63 years. His background in Japan and his fondness for ASIJ were very much part of the persona of Richard Moss, so much so that he had requested his ashes to be taken to the tomb shared by his family at the Yokohama Foreign Cemetery.

WALTER JOHN ARMISTEAD ’80 born on August 2, 1962 passed away on 2 October, 2019. Walter was born in Port Arthur, TX and attended ASIJ from 1972–76. He went on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. Walter enjoyed fishing, boating and skiing. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Gail Armistead on June 12, 2019. He is survived by his two sisters, Jeanie Armistead Anderson and a host of friends.

DAVE BEECKEN ’74 passed away on March 3, 2019. He was born in Annaka, Japan, in 1956 and attended ASIJ from 1968–74. Dave loved to explore nature and traveled to numerous parts of the world with his wife Joan. Those who knew Dave will remember his wit and sense of humor, and his kind and gentle soul.

JOHN CLARKE ’49, accomplished actor known for his role on NBC show Days of Our Lives, passed away on 16 October, 2019 aged 88. Born in South Bend, IN, John and his family followed his father, whom was an Army officer, wherever he was stationed. Rarely spending more than one year at a school. Upon high school graduation, John returned to the United States and attended the University of California where he received his BA in theater and went on to complete his master’s degree in television. John went on to serve in the US Air force during the Korean War but maintained his interest in theater as a member of the Air Force Varsitones. John performed as leading man in over 75 plays in Chicago and played various roles on stage. He appeared on many daytime television shows and “big screen” movies and received multiple awards including Afternoon TV’s Best Single Performance Award and an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement following his retirement from Days of Our Lives. He is survived by his wife Patty, children Melinda and Joshua. (Photo: NBC Television)

KATHLEEN ENGLISH ’84 passed away on June 16, 2019. Kathleen worked in wellness industry for decades, she was adventurous, a giver—seldom a taker. Some of her greatest memories were ASIJ created and she maintained contact with numerous former classmates from ASIJ. All five of her siblings also attended ASIJ. Kathleen was preceded in death by her parents Paul and Marlene English. Her surviving siblings Kevin, Colleen, Cara and Sean.

RAYMOND E. FIELDING ’48, newsreel historian and Dean of the Florida State University Motion Picture Arts, passed away on December 30, 2018 aged 87 years old. Born on January 3, 1931 in Brockton, MA, he moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1946 where his father, Walter was an employee of the Air Force stationed in Japan, during the post-war occupation. He graduated from ASIJ in 1949 and returned to the United States and went on to complete his BA and MA in theater arts and cinema and a PhD in communications at the University of Southern California. His professional career in the film industry spanned more than six decades, 45 years of which he spent in film education at five different universities. In the early 1950s Raymond worked in Los Angeles as a writer, director and editor. In 1957, he began working for UCLA and remained on the faculty of the division of motion pictures and television for eight years as an associate professor. Raymond left UCLA in 1965 and went on to lead film programs as director or senior professor at the University of Iowa, Temple University, the University of Houston and the University of Southern California. In 1990 he was appointed dean at the School of Motion pictures, Television and Recording Arts at the Florida State University and served for 13 years until he retired in 2003. He shared his knowledge of film and cinematography writing several books, journals and encyclopedia articles, that have been considered industry standard for over 40 years. His book The American Newsreel 1911–1967 was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Fielding served as a trustee of the American Film Institute (1973–1979) and as a lifetime member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences since 1981.In the last 35 years of his life, throughout his career and retirement, Raymond also served as a consultant and expert witness on film technology, copyright patent and archival services for numerous film and television studios.

STEVEN GLOEDE ’74 passed away peacefully in San Diego, CA, on April 2, 2019 after a long and courageous battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Steve was born in Sharon, CT, to Thomas and Patricia Gloede. At the age of 8, Steve and his family moved to Yokohama, Japan, where his father worked with IBM. He attended ASIJ from 1971–72. His family returned to Connecticut in 1972 and Steve went on to attend Paul Smith’s College in Lake Placid, NY, and Western Connecticut State College, in Danbury, CT, studying forestry and botany. He was employed by

Hydranautics for almost 30 years, ultimately rising to Director of Manufacturing and Plant Manager. He enjoyed being outside, planting, pruning and maintaining his yard.

DOUGLAS ROBERT JOHNSON ’78 born on October 13, 1960 passed away on July 31, 2019. Doug completed his formative years abroad in Tokyo, graduating from The American School in Japan in 1978. He returned to the States for his freshman year in college at the University of California, San Diego before transferring to the Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CA. In 2004, Doug founded Catapult Growth Partners and served as managing director there for the rest of his career.

SAMUEL GROSSBERG ’03 passed away on April 27, 2019 surrounded by family, after a difficult year fighting an incurable cancer. Sam was born in Texas on July 21, 1985 but spent his early childhood years in New York City until his family moved to Israel in 1992. He arrived in Japan in 2001 when his father was appointed a professor at Waseda University and entered ASIJ as a high school junior. Having played basketball from the age of 10, he joined the ASIJ JV (and later senior Varsity) basketball team. He was also a member of the football team, and competed in track and field. After graduating from ASIJ, Sam attended Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, doing a double major in philosophy and education. He worked for the Board of Jewish Education of Rhode Island, but returned to Israel to volunteer in the IDF as a soldier. When decommissioned he remained in Israel, working first in high tech, then in real estate, and finally in blockchain. In his final job he set up a call center in the Philippines where he eventually had two hundred employees under him. In 2018 he was diagnosed a rare T-cell lymphoma of the brain and central nervous system. Although Sam wanted to wait until he had recovered enough for a big wedding, he got married to Shai, in a small ceremony on December 21, 2018. He will be missed by his wife, his parents Ken and Keiko, and his sister Anna Rose Taylor ’06.

AARON MOORE ’90 historian of modern Japan and East Asia and an associate professor of history at Arizona State University passed away on September 8, 2019. He was born on 9 August, 1972 on the naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, where his father, Stephen Moore was a teacher. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and went on to complete his PhD at Cornell University in 2006. Aaron became a research associate at the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard. He began teaching at MIT and Ohio University before moving on to Arizona State University in 2008 where he taught a range of courses. He had a love of travel and frequently travelled abroad to give lectures and further his knowledge in his dedicated field. He is survived by his parents and wife, Nila Bhattacharjya.

DONNA OETTING (FF ’71–’75) former nursery school and kindergarten teacher passed away on May 4, 2019 at the age of 72. Donna was born in Waynesville, MO and graduated from The University of Iowa with a BS in recreation. She moved to Japan in 1971 accompanied by her husband and former faculty, Dennis (FF ’71–’75) Together they travelled the world while teaching and had four children that travelled with them. Donna was known for her laughter, love of teaching and grand Shrove Tuesday Pancake Parties.

MIRIAM OLSON (AP ’66–’80) passed away on September 8, 2019 aged 90. Her three children and two grandchildren all attended ASIJ from ’70 to ’08, graduating almost 30 years apart. She is survived by her son Timothy ’73, two daughters Tami ’70 and Christina ’80 and grandchildren, Stephen, Christopher ’04 and Sean ’08.

GREG SYLVAN TANG ’67 passed away on May 30, 2019 in Cheboygan, MI, after a short battle with cancer. Born on August 11, 1948 in Berkeley, CA. Greg lived in Japan from 1950 to 1969 where he attended ASIJ, graduating in 1967. After

arriving back in the States in 1967, Greg earned an engineering degree from Montana State in May of 1969. He then moved to Blaine, MN, and enrolled in a pre-architect course at the University of Minnesota. He also took courses at Lansing Community College from 1974–76 in hydraulics and electronics. Greg traveled back to Japan in March of 1970 and worked in the US Pavilion Space Exhibit at Expo ’70 in Osaka. He returned to the United States in September, later moving to Lansing, MI, where he accepted a manager position in the engineering department at Hartman-Fabco. He retired in 2007 as a one-third partner and continued as a consultant until 2012. In his free time, Greg enjoyed Canadian fishing trips, and working on the lake property near Wolverine, MI.

BRIAN WEBER ’18 a biology major in his freshman year at Boston University, passed away on April 12, 2019. Brian was born in Singapore and attended ASIJ from 2006–12. He went on to attend high school at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, where he was a Varsity athlete and an active contributor to a studentproduced website, The Tavern. According to his family, Brian was a people person and was always looking for ways to help people, and he will be sincerely missed.

CHARLES D. WINSLOW (AP ’81–’86) passed away on October 10, 2019 peacefully in his home in Columbus, OH. He was born on 13 July, 1935 in Philadelphia to Charlie and Betty Winslow. As an aggressive forward on his high school basketball team, Charles led his team to the state championship in 1957. Charles graduated from Dartmouth College in 1957 and was an officer in the US Navy earning an MBA in 1961. He met his wife, Nancy Shaw in 1955 and they were married in 1959. He went to work for Anderson Consulting, opening the Columbus consulting division in in 1967. He became a partner in 1970 and later moved to Tokyo, Japan to lead the Tokyo office where he worked for five years. As an active community member, he was chairman on the board of The American School in Japan where two of his sons, Jonathan Winslow ’83 and Samuel Winslow ’90 attended. He retired in 1995 as head of Accenture’s worldwide change management practise, spending his retirement actively; travelling and playing tennis. Charles divided his time between Vero Beach, FL, in winter, Frisco, CO, in fall and Columbus, OH, during summer. He is survived and missed by his four sons Charlie, Steve, Jon ’83 and Sam ’90 and wife, Nancy.