Obituary of Paul Masakazu Hirai

Paul Masakazu Hirai was born on May 19th, 1939 in Los Angeles, CA. He passed away peacefully on April 23rd, 2019 at his home in Sacramento, CA. He was the oldest of four children to the late Shozo and Tsuyo Hirai. His siblings are Robert Takashi Hirai, Tsuyako Uto, and Tadao Hirai. As a young child, he was sent to the Tule Lake Segregation Camp during WWII. After the war, he spent his childhood in Japan, but came back to California when he was 19. In 1959, shortly after arriving back in the U.S., he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served for 3 years. In 1965, he married Yuriko Nagano, and they raised three daughters in Sacramento, CA. He retired at the age of 62 after more than 30 years in the U.S. Postal Service. During his retirement years, he enjoyed travelling the world on cruises, travelling back to Japan, watching sports on tv, and spending time with his grandchildren. Paul is survived by his wife Yuriko, daughters Nancy (Ricky) Charlet, Wendy (Martin) Penunuri, and Peggy (Bryan) Matsuyoshi, and 8 grandchildren: Robynn and Naomi Charlet, Alex and Eric Penunuri, and Hannah, Abigail, Noah, and Caleb Matsuyoshi, and his siblings Tsuyako Uto and Tadao Hirai. He is preceded in death by his brother Robert and his parents. He was a devoted family man and a loving grandfather. He will be missed.