Archives West Finding Aid

George Jerome Sakashita (1921-1975) was born on January 20, 1921, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Fukutaro and Etsuno Nakai Sakashita. He served in the United States Army during World War II even as members of his family were imprisoned in Tule Lake and Topaz. On November 23, 1947, he married Jane Beppu. Together, the couple had three sons. George worked as a produce buyer for the Associated Food Stores, Inc. He was a leader in Salt Lake City's Japanese American community, serving as president of the Japanese-American Citizens' League (JACL) and member of the Kiwa Doshi Kai Organization, the Japanese Community Improvement Program, and the JACL Bowling League. He was a member of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple and served as superintendent of the church's Sunday school. George Sakashita died in 1975.

Jane Beppu Sakashita grew up in a mining camp outside of Garfield, Utah, with her parents and grandparents, all immigrants from Japan. Jane, a member of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, was the first female board president. She served as treasurer for the Buddhist Women's Association and worked at the Salt Lake City Issei Center with elderly members of the Japanese American community in Utah. Jane Shakashita is a writer who contributed to the 1996 book Japanese-Americans in Utah.