Goji (George) Suzuki BORN November 1920 DIED April 2010 OCCUPATION Contractor, educator
GOJI (GEORGE) SUZUKI was born in Vancouver, BC in November 1920 to Sentaro Suzuki and Shika Nemi. He was a second generation Japanese-Canadian, born to a fisherman’s family of seven children. Goji attended UBC from September to December of 1940, and was asked to leave along with the other Japanese-Canadians when war was declared. After the war, the JapaneseCanadians were informed that their homes, businesses and belongings had been sold for next to nothing. They were given some of that money and ordered to move east or go to Japan. Goji was not invited to continue his education at UBC, and it was not until his children were older and he had worked his way up to the level of an
independent contractor that he applied to the University of Western Ontario. He obtained his BA there, taking classes at night and also at Althouse Teacher’s College, and after graduating applied to Fanshawe College, getting hired to teach construction and surveying. He retired in 1980 and decided to build a house on Vancouver Island. Goji, known by his Christian name of George by many, was a devoted provider and loving father to myself and my siblings. He was a humble man and drew much satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from teaching and coaching. My father died in April of 2010. —As remembered by his family
RETURN a commemorative yearbook in honour of the Japanese Canadian students of 1942
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