Passing of Yoshito Vince Tamura
Vince Tamura passed peacefully this afternoon following his having a series of strokes a week ago Monday and never regaining consciousness.
For those of you who do not know, Vince was our representative to the First World Judo Championships held in 1956 where he made it to the semi-final.
He was also a referee when Judo was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1964.
He started Judo in Seattle where he saw his older brother, Mas, promoted by Jigoro Kano to yodan. Vince was a decorated veteran of World War II and joined his brother after the war in Chicago where they built a very strong club and Vince won several national championships. Vince eventually got married to Yuri and they moved to Dallas with their two sons, David and Bob – both strong judoka. Vince’s legacy includes the long standing Dallas Invitational Championship, being the only person promoted to 9th Dan by USA Judo, and having trained a long list of national and international champions.