A man to remember
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Iris Kuo
May 27, 2010
Filed under Lower School, Top Stories
Mr. Frederick Okumura has spent fifty-two years of his life at ‘Iolani School- thirteen as a student, six as the 7th/8th grade counselor, and thirty-three as the Dean of Lower School. Mr. Okumura’s retirement was announced in chapel to the lower school students. “I was so happy that nobody cheered,” he said. Mr. Gerald Teramai, currently the principle at Kalani High, will fill his position.
As he says, his job, generally speaking, is being the administrator for Lower School. Mr. O says his favorite part of his job is “the students. We’re all here because of the students; they’re so friendly, honest, smart, talented, nice, everything. We’re fortunate to have the students we have here and their parents. Put that together with great teachers and you’ve got an unbeatable combo.” Outside of his office, he walks around at recess, lunch, and after classes joining in on the children’s games, sharing their snacks, and listening if they have a problem. But the highlight of his week is reading to the Kindergarteners. Each year, he reads Purple, Green, and Yellow to them, a story about a little girl who colors herself. When he’s finished, he asks them, “Do you think this is real or make-believe?” and they all respond that it’s made-up, so he agrees that no one in real life would ever draw on themselves. When his visit comes to an end, he waves goodbye, and that’s when they notice that he has the words “Bye” written on his hand. Many students remember that Mr. O constantly had some sort of message written on his hand, but when asked whether or not he still does that, he merely shrugged and said, “When it’s nap time, I fall asleep, and there’s someone that does that. I think it’s a student.”
In his years as Dean, a memory that stands out (aside from anytime the students did well) is the preparation for the first co-ed year. He remembers that Ms. Reser, a lower school librarian, had to throw out half of the books, since the old books only depicted women as secretaries or flight attendants. They replaced the books with ones that showed women as astronauts, firefighters, and doctors to encourage the girls to be anything they wanted to be. Another memory is the addition of the Ai Building, a gift from the late David Ai. The day before school, Mr. O and the second grade teachers were still moving desks into the second grade classrooms, because of the delays in construction. Another memorable moment is the creation of the Tam and Young Arts chair which has “added so much”. He said that one year, the orchestra students were allowed to go backstage at a concert to shake hands to Yo-yo Ma, and he invited them to play his cello, Petunia. Lastly, every Grandparent’s Day when the grandparents come to school with their grandchildren is memorable for him. Mrs.Yellis started this day to honor the student’s grandparents.
Aside from being the Dean of Lower School, Mr. O started the Chess and Checkers Club about 30 years ago for second graders. He’s no longer in charge of it, but he’s very grateful that they still invite him as a guest. At the club’s last meeting on 5/24, they revealed to him that they wanted to pay tribute to him by renaming their club “Mr. Okumura’s Chess and Checkers Club”. Also, Mr. O is one of the recipients of this year’s yearbook dedication.
In his free time, he plans to run with the bulls in Spain, go deep sea fishing, and go motor car racing, but he says he’ll probably end up doing volunteer work instead.
Mrs. Derby, a teacher from K-Leahi, says of Mr. O, “The kids development is really important to him; he’s a steady influence. He’s honest, fair, and firm, but compassionate. He loves ‘Iolani, and he cares a lot about the teachers and the families.” Mr. O would like to thank all the students for making his job so enjoyable and remind them to keep up the good work in and out of the classroom, treat each other nicely, and…do their homework.
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