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I-House Times Spring - Summer 2016

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International House Times 117 In Memory 1930s omas Howell Breece July 26, 2015 After being raised in China, omas returned to the US—already fluent in Mandarin, English, French, and Latin—to attend UC Berkeley and live at I-House. Stationed in China during World War II, he translated Japanese radio transmissions and played in high stakes poker games. After his service, he taught English at Napa Community College, San Quentin Prison, and College of Marin. omas was a true renaissance man who could hot-wire a car, recite Chaucer in Middle English, speak and read over six languages, build a house, fix a pipe, and answer any historical or grammatical question. Tomoye Takahashi June 4, 2016 Tomoye "Tami" Takahashi was known by many as a walking encyclopedia and had a wealth of stories about the history and people of San Francisco's Japantown. She double- majored in Oriental Studies and Decorative Arts. A few months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tami and her husband were forcibly moved to the Tanforan Detention Center and then to an internment camp in Topaz, Utah. Following the camp's closing, they returned to San Francisco to raise their family and start a trading company to introduce the American public to the arts and crafts of Japan in hopes of diminishing prejudice and racism. In 2010, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco honored Tami with the Order of the Rising Sun for her contribution to preserving and educating the public on the history and culture of Japanese Americans. Tami, who celebrated her 100th birthday in August 2015, is featured in our We Are International House video as well as our alumni stories website at ihouse.berkeley.edu/stories. 1940s Charles Holloway March 23, 2016 Charles attended Stanford University, and after serving with the U.S. Army intelligence units in France and Germany during World War II, he returned to America to complete his bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley. After studying in France and receiving his master's degree from Washington State University, he worked briefly for the CIA before starting his career in education at the National Education Association, the College Entrance Examination Board, and the College of William and Mary. A lifelong athlete, Charles continued to play tennis until he was nearly 90. Ira Hinsdale Latour July 19, 2015 Ira's teachers recognized his gift for art when he was a young child, and he began classes at the California College of Arts at the age of ten. At 17, Ira was commissioned by the National Railways of Mexico to paint a mural for the Mexican Pavilion at the 1939-40 Golden Gate Exhibition in San Francisco. After serving as chief aerial combat photographer during World War II, Ira studied photography with Ansel Adams, was the international media director for Overseas Weekly, and taught art for over 23 years at Chico State University. He has credits on numerous films and was nominated for an Academy Award. His photographs and films are in the collections of the Smithsonian, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Mary D. Voelker March 13, 2015 After graduating from Vassar College, Mary lived at I-House before completing her master's degree from the University of Michigan. She taught elementary school in Lansing until retirement. She enjoyed reading, traveling, gardening, volunteering, and listening to music from her childhood. 1950s Wilton S. Dillon Aug. 22, 2015 While working on the staff of General MacArthur in post-World War II Japan, Wilton found himself inspired to become an anthropologist. He studied at UC Berkeley and lived at I-House before receiving a doctorate in anthropology from Columbia University, where he studied under famed anthropologist Margaret Mead. For three decades, he served as director of the Smithsonian Institution's interdisciplinary conference series, drawing upon his earlier experience as a soldier, journalist, college teacher, foundation executive, and science diplomat. After retiring in 1994, he continued as senior scholar emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution and published his second book, a memoir, Smithsonian Stories.

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