Al Hagiwara

Alvin Kazuto Hagiwara was born on March 29, 1933 to Kazuma and Doris Hagiwara in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He grew up with his 2 brothers and 2 sisters, Stanley, Raymond, Agnes & Jean and over the years enjoyed visiting the family in Hawaii.

After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he was stationed on Johnson Island.  He then attended San Jose State and graduated from UC Berkeley.  A friend of his invited him to the family Thanksgiving dinner where he met Kathy.  They would see each other at fraternity parties, and eventually he worked up the courage to ask her out.  He and Kathy were married on April 24, 1960.  Their first home was in Oakland, California.

Al worked for the Department of Water Resources in Sacramento as an engineer on a team that worked on the California Aqueduct.  During their time in Sacramento, his 3 children were born.   

They moved to Turlock and worked for Turlock Irrigation District, where he started as an engineer and rose to the position of Chief Financial Officer.  As part of his work, he traveled to Japan and Sweden.  He played golf regularly and even got a hole-in-one…not once, but on three different occasions. 

In 2000 they moved to Sun City Roseville where he played lots of golf and they enjoyed golf trips with friends.  In addition to playing golf, Al enjoyed playing the ukulele and entertained the family and friends with his musical ability.

Al is survived by his wife, Kathy and their children and their spouses, Kristin and Mark Council, Tanya and Dave Green, and Dave and Wendy Hagiwara.  He became a grandfather who was much loved by his grandchildren, Ryan, Abbey, Hudson, Anna, and Jackson.  He and Kathy took their family on many trips where they could enjoy time together in places like Kauai, Bend Oregon, and Half Moon Bay.  In 2021, he became a great grandfather to baby Hazel.

They say love makes memories and life precious; the grief that comes to us is proportionate to that love and is inescapable.  We’re so blessed to have loved one who made memories and life precious, and Al touched many of our lives with his sense of humor, warmth, and aloha spirit.