Remembering Rex

[Curtis Kelly]

On March 23, we lost a truly great educator.  Rex Tanimoto, an Associate Professor of English at Osaka Gakuin University, died of lung cancer.  Rex, originally from Hawaii, was fifty-four years old.

I remember the day he found out he had cancer.  We were supposed to go to Tomigaoka High School together to work on one of his many projects.  He called me that morning and said he thought he had the flu and was going to the doctor instead.  They discovered that Rex, a non-smoker and incredibly fit, had both lung cancer and a pulmonary embolism.  He was diagnosed as being at stage 3 or 4, which meant he only had a few months, but with the usual Rex-like determination, he fought his illness for more than a year longer than any doctor thought he could.


(Gag photo we took in hospital)

Rex was always ahead of the rest of us.  He’d get one innovative project started, assemble a team, and then start on another project before the first one was fully formed.  It would make me smile when this tendency would drive some of his more cautious colleagues crazy, but as a result, he was one of the most productive and inspirational educators in Japan.  One project or another was left sprouting and evolving in every one of his footprints.  Some languished, some went on to ever greater meaning than even he had hoped.

Yet the stimulus for his ambition and hard work was never money or fame.  The reason he made things, as he often professed, was because he truly cared for his students, especially the ones having hard times.  Love was his pedagogy and his perpetual smile was his method.  He constantly sought ways to encourage learners, entertain them, and inspire them.  Showcasing their work was his passion.  I think many will agree with me when I say that Rex was the gentlest teacher I have ever known; which is not quite what you’d expect from an ex-Captain in the US Military. His motto was “Live for Others;” and you can see some of those others in a video here:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=41385590867&subj=735762502  



Rex was always ahead of the rest of us.  In an odd way it fits that he also took the lead in going on to some possibly better place.



                                                            \\|//
                                                            |o o|
 ----------------------------------oOOo--~(_)~--oOOo-------------------live for others


          _>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>
        _>_>                                                                                                 >_>_>
      _>_>                           Curtis Kelly, EdD                                           >_>_>_>
     _>_>                            Kansai University                                          >_>_>_>_>
    _>_>                             3-3-35 Yamate-cho, Yamate                            >_>_>_>_>
     _>_>                            Suita-shi, Osaka-fu 564-8680 JAPAN           >_>_>_>_>
      _>_>                                                                                                    >_>_>_>
        _>_>                         ctsk...@gmail.com                                        >_>_>
          _>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>_>

[Coop]

A sadness comes   A sadness comes, my friend, Upon our shared world, our shared time. I see you standing there beyond the reach of our weeping, And you too are weeping, you know our hearts that well.   All along we knew the Bodhisattva In you, Rex. That’s why we will remember always the genuine and generous Way you lived your life among us.   Major domo, brah.     Ohm mane padme hum     Curtis, thanks for your good words ~

[Fawn Wan]

Dear CURTIS,

Thanks a lot for the write-up on Rex. It helps a lot during the time of sadness and time to remember Rex's life. He touched the life of so many including me. Next time when you come to Ohio University please do let me know.  We will remember Rex together since Rex introduced the two of us.

Best,

Guofang 

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[Paul Kelley]

Remembering Rex....

   Just read your poem Coop.....  Only a few minutes ago I came to my computer to express my feelings about Rex to the friends-of-rex-tanimoto and especially to his family.  And upon my arrival was greeted by Coop's beautiful poem.

   And earlier today, I read Curtis Kelly's words of remembrance, with the photos and video.  It brought back good memories.  Thanks Curtis.

   When Rex first came to Kansai Gaidai, as the coordinator for the foreign instructors, I was one of the faculty members that interviewed him.  He had come to the university very highly recommended, so the interview was only a formality.  Rex impressed us all from the start.  He was a man in quiet command.  There was no doubt in any of our minds that he deserved the high recommendation that he had received.  And during his time at Gaidai, he received the deep affection of teachers and students alike.

   Yeah, Rex was special, he was.  'Kindness' was his middle name - such a warm personality.  Whenever I would meet him at Kansai Gaidai it brightened my day.  And as Curtis said, Rex was always working hard to be a better teacher.  What an inspiration he was to all of us.

   Anyway, we all miss Rex and I believe in my heart that he's up there somewhere cheering us on.

           Paul Kelley

On Mar 25, 2010, at 8:05 PM, Coop wrote:

A sadness comes   A sadness comes, my friend, Upon our shared world, our shared time. I see you standing there beyond the reach of our weeping, And you too are weeping, you know our hearts that well.   All along we knew the Bodhisattva In you, Rex. That’s why we will remember always the genuine and generous Way you lived your life among us.   Major domo, brah.     Ohm mane padme hum

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Curtis, thanks for your good words ~  "Love was his pedagogy and his perpetual smile was his method."