[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF KENZO KAMEI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 2013

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an 
extraordinary man, Kenzo Kamei, who was born in Vacaville, California 
on August 28, 1931, and died on June 1, 2013. Kenzo Kamei spent his 
early years in Japan where he attended elementary and secondary school. 
He returned to California at the age of 18, and worked with his parents 
harvesting crops and working on farms. As a young man he met and 
married Ruth Kisa ``Kisako'' Nishimoto in Sunnyvale, California, and 
shortly thereafter the couple was interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming.
   Kenzo Kamei kept many mementos which documented his time at Heart 
Mountain . . . his daily work release pay stubs recording his earnings 
of $18 per month, the highest in the camp, and the receipt that he was 
given on his final release from the Camp, giving him $28, or $5 per day 
for five days of travel, and $3 for subsistence enroute. These 
artifacts are now part of an interpretive center built by the Heart 
Mountain Wyoming Foundation, a non-profit group that has made it its 
mission to tell the many stories of internment, about triumph and 
tragedy, prejudice and friendship. After being released from 
internment, Kenzo and Ruth returned to Sunnyvale. Kenzo worked as a 
gardener and warehouseman, and he and Ruth saved enough money to launch 
Kamei Nursery, Inc., a grower of award-winning flowers, in Mountain 
View, California. They opened nurseries in Mountain View and Morgan 
Hill, and they were key in founding the Buddhist Temple in Mountain 
View.
   Kenzo Kamei was a devoted husband who spent several years caring for 
his beloved wife of 70 years, who passed away on June 8, 2012. Kenzo 
leaves his son Kenneth; his daughters, Eileen (Robert) Eng, and Judy 
(Steve) Inamori. He also leaves his adored grandchildren, Ami, Ellen 
and Jonathan Kamei; Emily Eng Holbrook, Laura Eng Derdenger and Julia 
Eng; and Bradley, Gregory and Kathryn Inamori. He also leaves his 
great-grandson Davis Patrick Derdenger, and many nieces and nephews.
   Mr. Speaker, Kenzo Kamei was an extraordinary American who will be 
greatly missed by his family and his community. I ask my colleagues to 
join me in extending our condolences to his family and friends who 
mourn his passing and honor his life which was lived in dignity and 
accomplishment.

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