Hawaii Rep. Clift Tsuji, 74, passed away at the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu today, according to a spokesman for the state House of Representatives.
Hawaii Rep. Clift Tsuji, 74, passed away at the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu today, according to a spokesman for the state House of Representatives.
Tsuji represented House District 2 including Keaukaha, parts of Hilo, Panaewa and Waiakea.
The family has requested privacy at this time. Services are pending.
A retired banker, Tsuji was born on Jan. 20, 1941, and raised in Papaikou. He is a 1959 graduate of Hilo High School and completed his post-secondary degrees at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the University of Washington, Pacific Coast Banking School.
Tsuji was first elected to the Housein 2004 and was chairman of the Agriculture Committee. Among his many awards he was named the Hawaii Farm Bureau’s Legislator of the Year Award in 2015.
Tsuji served in the U.S. Army Reserve, 442nd Infantry, Company B, Hilo, from 1959-1965.
He was also active with the Hilo Medical Center Foundation, Hawaii Island Japanese Community Association, Pacific Tsunami Museum, Hiroshima Kenjin Kai, Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce, and the Kumamoto Kenjin Kai.
See Wednesday’s Tribune-Herald for a full story.