CLASS NOTES
1982
40th REUNION It ’ s coming up at Homecoming 2021 this October ! To learn more and be a part , email Jenelle Dean ’ 05 at jmdean @ ucsd . edu
Steve Turner , Muir , donated the first African Americana collection — the Turner Collection — to UC San Diego Library ’ s Special Collections & Archives . The collection is comprised of more than 300 items , including rare photographs , pamphlets , photo cards , posters and pinback buttons , many from the 19th century and all of which shed new light on the African American experience , particularly in the West .
1984
David Janowski , Muir , is happily retired and splitting time between his farm in Bend , Ore ., and Indian Wells , Calif .
1987
35th REUNION It ’ s coming up at Homecoming 2021 this October ! To learn more and be a part , email Jenelle Dean ’ 05 at jmdean @ ucsd . edu
Michael J . Montgomery , Revelle , joined the law firm Davis and Ferber in Islandia , N . Y ., where he is a plaintiff ’ s personal injury attorney .
The Gifts of Elders
SOON AFTER moving to the U . S . from Japan in 1976 , I became very intrigued by the differences between American and Japanese outlooks on aging . I wrote my graduate thesis in anthropology on the subject in 1991 , but the project would ultimately carry through my whole life , having just recently published a book on the topic at age 72 . But back in 1987 , at the age of 39 , I went to a senior center every day for 18 months and engaged in the anthropological method of participant observation . I did whatever the elders were doing : painting , knitting , singing and so on . I became an “ insider ,” even though I was teased for my age —“ a young chicken ,” they would say .
After this initial fieldwork , I kept in touch with many elders by dropping in at the center , phoning or visiting them at homes or hospitals . I continued my research in this way for more than three decades , but my book was repeatedly put on hold due to my husband ’ s long battle with cancer and eventual death , as well as trips to Japan to look after my mother until her death . Those years of delay , however , enabled me to deepen my understanding of the illnesses and bereavement the elders endured as I , too , experienced them . Hearing elders ’ hospitalization experiences helped me to cope with my husband ’ s cancer . I found solace with other widows , and we became closer by sharing memories of our husbands . When my book , Through Japanese Eyes : Thirty Years of Studying Aging in America , was published in 2020 , all but one elder was deceased , and I was a senior citizen . My research had become a personal journey .
These years yielded important aspects of aging that might not have been obvious in a short-term study . For instance , old age is a very dynamic period of life in which major changes occur , not only illnesses and deaths but also moving through different types of housing and experiencing divorce and sometimes marriage . Seven elderly couples married during my research . This discovery defies the prevailing image of old age as a static period , a kind of “ existential
purgatory ” between life and death . Life goes on , no matter how old one becomes .
Yet aging presents challenges , especially in taking care of oneself despite diminishing self-sufficiency . This is particularly arduous for elders in America , where independence is so highly valued . But elders are ingenious to remain autonomous . For instance , they complemented each other ’ s missing resources . One octogenarian , who could not walk but still drove , gave rides to her friend , who could not drive but did the pedestrian tasks for them both . Observing elders ’ endeavors like this was an unexpected gift from them , offering me courage and optimism to face unknowns in my own life .
I recall one day when I and other elders were making Raggedy Ann dolls . A widow shared her grandson ’ s question during a recent visit : “ Grandma , do your wrinkles hurt ?” The boy ’ s innocence and curiosity amused everyone . To my relief , he had not yet associated old age with death , like the relative of another elder who had asked , “ Great-grandma , are you dying ?” Yet , many in the U . S . make that association at any age . From my Japanese eyes , it is a general lack of knowledge about old age that leads many people to fear , loathe or even deny it . This gave me incentive to finish the book — a desire and sense of duty to make the reality of elders ’ lives widely known , along with showing my deep gratitude toward them . And to show that , no , wrinkles do not hurt .
Yohko Tsuji ’ 80 is an adjunct associate professor of anthropology at Cornell University ( yt33 @ cornell . edu ). She no longer teaches but continues her research and writing .
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