Walter Shigeo Teruya, the beloved first Japan Sendai mission president, is largely unknown to many of the men and women whom he served. Together with his loving wife, Joyce Tone Nagasawa Teruya, they were an inspirational team for 63 years. This short tribute is a compilation of information about their lives that may be of interest to those who have known them and served with them. Walter was born on Maui in 1915, and was the child of immigrants from Okinawa. As a Nisei of Okinawan heritage, he faced discrimination not only in working world of pre-World War II Hawaii, but even among other Japanese immigrants. Since many Japanese considered themselves superior to Okinawans, whom they had conquered, Walter truly started out at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. As a young boy he learned to play the coronet, and was part of a brass band on the island. During his time in the band, he developed a life-long love for music of John Phillip Sousa. He took tapes of Sousa marches with him on his Sendai Mission, and would listen to them while traveling around on his mission president assignments. Walter was strong, and enjoyed displaying his prowess as a weight lifter. He claimed to have been the Maui weight lifting champion in his weight class. He also enjoyed riding motorcycles around the island. One Sunday while riding his motorcycle, he stopped at the Mormon church and attended a Sacrament Meeting. He often said that he was converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ during the opening song of that first sacrament meeting. The hymn that day was, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," and Walter later testified to many that he received a witness of the Spirit that the song was true. He was so profoundly affected by the song that his questions could not be contained. He was baptized shortly thereafter on May 14, 1941. A number of young Nisei like Walter were baptized during this period of time, and they ended up making a remarkable contribution to the church. Adney Y. Komatsu, a member of the Seventy, and most of the other Hawaiian born mission presidents of the 1970s were part of this spiritual harvest of Japanese Nisei during the 1930s and 1940s. Walter married Joyce Tone Nagasawa on July 11, 1942, and they began a lifelong love affair that was beautiful to behold. They hold the distinction of being the first couple of Japanese descent to be sealed in the Hawaii Temple. Joyce's mother was from Fukushima (a part of the future Sendai Mission), and her father was from Sawara in Chiba-ken. (The river that flows through Sawara is the Tone river, for whom Joyce was named.) Joyce's parents were therefore of a different social caste than Walter's family. When they were first married, Joyce's family did not approve, and Walter was not accepted by them.
	Not to be deterred in his quest for success, Walter went to work on a sugar plantation on Maui. His supervisors observed his work habits and he found himself being promoted. By the early 1950s, Walter had been promoted into a management position in the sugar industry . . . another first, since no other worker of Japanese ancestry had ever risen into the ranks of management. Just as his career appeared to be on the fast track, Walter received his first mission call. He had the unusual calling of full-time counselor to a part-time mission president in Hawaii. He and Joyce willingly accepted the assignment, which meant that Walter had to leave his employment. He never went back to the sugar industry. Walter often related stories of his first mission in Hawaii. He especially liked to reminisce about traveling by burro to the isolated leper colony on Molokai. He would visit church members in the leper colony and participate in their worship services. He always said that the most beautiful singing he ever heard was in those services. One of the young missionaries who served in Hawaii during this time period was the father of Elder Mark Potter, who later served with us in the Sendai Mission. Sometime after his release from his first mission assignment, Walter and Joyce moved to Oahu. Evidently, when it came time for Joyce's father to bequeath the family slipper/sandal manufacturing business, he felt that Joyce and Walter could handle the responsibility. Joyce's family's early rejection of Walter had turned into full acceptance. Thus began their years of working together in the Nagasawa family business. Walter was responsible for the marketing and sales side of the operation. As they got started on Oahu, Walter bought his first house. A few years later when his income would stretch a little farther, he bought another home. Using this method, he built a substantial real estate portfolio during the 1950s and 1960s. Evidently his business was also very successful. Walter enjoyed a unique spiritual experience occurred during the 1960s when Elder Spencer W. Kimball was visiting the islands. Elder Kimball made a habit of commemorating his call to the Apostleship by spending time apart in prayer and contemplation. As his ordination anniversary occurred while he was visiting Maui, Elder Kimball asked Walter and another priesthood leader to take him to a serene place where he would enjoy some time alone. They took him to the Iao Valley, and he kindly asked them to participate with him in prayer before he retired to a place alone. Walter always counted this experience, (which is recorded in Pres. Kimball's biography), as a spiritual highlight of his life. Walter was called to be the first Branch President of the University of Hawaii Institute Branch. James E. Halstrom succeeded Walter as Branch President, and while serving in this capacity he met and fellowshipped a young man from Maui. This young man, Dwayne Wada, was from an inactive family. Dwayne developed a strong testimony and became very active in the student ward. He eventually introduced his future wife, Christine, to the gospel, and she was baptized. When Dwayne returned home to Maui, he found that Walter Teruya was his parent's home teacher, and that they had returned to activity as he experienced his own spiritual reawakening. Dwayne followed Walter and Joyce into the mission field in Sendai. By the time he returned home, his father was a member of the Stake Presidency on Maui. Dwayne's parents would eventually serve a mission to the Tokyo Temple, and his father served as the Stake Patriarch. Dwayne would later serve as Walter and Joyce's Bishop and home teacher after their missions.
								When Walter and Joyce were called to preside over the new mission in Sendai Japan it was early in 1974. Walter was 59 years old, and was standing on the brink of real wealth. He had been successful in business, and had acquired significant real estate holdings. Those were boom days in Oahu real estate, and he was in a perfect position to take advantage of the opportunity. There is little doubt that he would have amassed significant personal wealth if he had not accepted the call to serve. Of course, with Walter and Joyce there was not question about accepting a call from the Lord. Walter and Joyce were blessed with three children; two daughters and one son. They purchased a condominium apartment for their two teenagers to live in while they were in Japan. Apparently, they felt that the schools in Sendai would not provide the education their children needed. Therefore, their second daughter and only son were left in Hawaii for the three mission years, only visiting their parents once or twice during their mission. The Teruyas served with great distinction during 1974-77. They were loved by all of their missionaries, and won the respect of the members in Tohoku. It was a time of pioneering growth in the northern Japan. Being from Hawaii, getting used to the cold, snowy Michinoku winters was especially difficult for Joyce, who can be seen in the picture at left huddling next to a sekiyu (kerosene) stove at a mission district meeting. Things Hawaiian were never too far away though, and they managed to throw an occasional Hawaiian feast (poi, fish, kailua pig etc.). President Teruya was a trusting, wise, and gentle leader who inspired us both as missionaries and in our lives after our missions. We were so fortunate to serve under the Teruyas.
	In 1978, after Joyce and Walter had returned from Sendai, they went to Maryland to care for their oldest daughter and her family during a high-risk pregnancy. They returned to Maui in 1979 after their second grandson was born. (This grandson was called to the Japan Tokyo North Mission in 1998.) We were fortunate to have them travel to Utah for four or five missionary reunions-1978, 1987, 1990. Walter took up golf, and became an avid hacker. He would walk the public course in his community nearly every day but Sunday, and was not too shy to boast a little of his feats on the course. He would also walk to maintain his health. He was strong, full of energy, and had remarkable stamina. Joyce and Walter also played tennis. However, their retirement didn't last very long. They were called to serve in the Tokyo Temple (83-84), and later answered a second call to serve in the Tokyo where Walter served as the Temple President (92-94.) During their last temple assignment, Joyce suffered a fall and was in poor health. Their service was a great physical sacrifice. After their temple missions in Japan, they finally settled down to a quiet retirement. Beginning only a few months after their return from Tokyo in July 1994, Walter began to suffer from a series of health problems. He was so excited to get all his Sendai missionaries together for a reunion in October 1994 but he had to cancel at the last minute due to the health issues. He was able to make a trip to Salt Lake City six months later in April 1995, when a smaller reunion was held--it was the last reunion the Teruyas were able to attend. His activities gradually diminished over the next ten years. The Teruyas were honored by the Church in 1998 as "pioneers" for all their service, and were recognized as being the first couple of Japanese ancestry married in the Hawaiian Temple. In addition to the three children mentioned above, they had three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. President Teruya passed away on December 18, 2004 at the age of 89, finally released from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Until about four weeks prior to his death, he still attended church every week, and Dwayne Wada (his home teacher since 1994) accompanied him to High Priest Quorum meetings. Although Walter didn't remember much of that which was recent, his life still focused around his faith until the end. He passed away on a Saturday, but woke up thinking it was Sunday and he needed to get ready to go to church, according to Dwayne. Just one week before his death, Walter was one of four Hawaiians specifically honored by President Hinckley in a special fireside meeting held in the Honolulu Tabernacle that was broadcast live to all stake centers in Hawaii. Joyce cared for Walter lovingly and patiently and enjoyed good health during his last days--they were married 63 years! During those post-mission years she looked forward to receiving notes from her missionaries and took care to answer every one while she was still able. About one year after Walter's death, she suffered a small stroke. After a few months in a care center, she was well enough to return home. Soon after her 84th birthday she suffered another stroke, slipped into a coma, and passed away at home on March 13, 2006. We're sad to see her go, but are comforted by the knowledge that Sister Teruya and the President are together again. We love you, Walter and Joyce!