82, passed away at Hale Nani Rehabilitation & Nursing Center on March 20, 2022. He was born in Honolulu on July 9, 1939 to Katashi and Mitsuye Tomasu. At a tender age he lost his beloved mother and his favorite teddy bear, which was replaced by an imposter he never accepted. He was the youngest of four siblings, and remained the youngest when his father remarried his stepmother, Edith.After graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and receiving his Bachelor's of Education, he regretfully taught at Roosevelt High School, where he discovered teaching wasn't the life for him. He joined the U.S. Army, where he was an Infantry Officer stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and became one of the first Green Berets to be trained. Bert then was accepted to The George Washington University Law School, where he earned his law degree in 1961. He had an extensive career in law, including being an Executive Secretary for the Board of Medical Examiners, a Senate Majority Attorney in the Senate Majority Office, Chairperson in the Hawaii Labor Relations Board, and a Hearing Officer for the Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office, where he had retired from in 2018.
A voracious golfer, he would religiously play a round of golf every weekend with his friends until his back prevented him from doing so. Eventually, he discovered another group of friends to hang out with at Burger King, where they would drink coffee and socialize.
Bert had one daughter, Candace, whom he loved enough to accept all the cats she spontaneously brought home without asking him first. Bert enjoyed helping his daughter escape during her lunch breaks during work, grumbling about how expensive the food was while also contemplating if he should get a $5 cup of coffee after every meal (the answer was always yes), and watching football, baseball, and of course, golf. He excelled at answering most of the Jeopardy! questions correctly and faster than the contestants, being a human dictionary, and scolding people.
A magnitude of gratitude to everyone who helped care for Bert, including Malama Ola Health Services, BAYADA Home Health, the doctors, nurses, and caregivers at Hale Nani Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and The Queen's Medical Center, his primary care physician, Dr. Chelsea Ching-Endow, his oncologist, Dr. David Tamura, his cardiologist, Dr. Roy Kamada, his urologist, Dr. Richard Tsou, his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Morris Mitsunaga, and his geriatrician, Dr. Yuri Imanishi.
Bert is survived by his only daughter, Candace, four cats (Jin, Arlo, Pyro, and Lenny Katvitz) he never asked for, step brother, Roy Fujimoto and his wife, Audrey, step sister Shirley Shishido, and sister-in-law, Betty Tomasu. Bert is also survived by a great number of nieces and nephews, who knew him as the best Santa Claus and an extraordinary number of friends who knew his tough exterior was a front for his wonderful heart.
A Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 p.m., visitation from 2:00 p.m.
on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
Arrangements Provided By:
Hosoi Garden Mortuary
