Sam Saburo Terasaki passed peacefully on February 20, 2019 at Denver Hospice. He was 94. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Dean and Teri Terasaki, and two grandchildren, Kimi and Brian, all of Phoenix.

Sam was born to Masaemon and Sei (Nakanishi) Terasaki on November 6, 1924 in Denver, Colorado. He was the youngest and last surviving of their six children: Haruko, Yutaka (Tak), Shoziro (Sarge), Yuriko, Mitsuko (Mikko), and Saburo (Sam). He attended Bromwell elementary school and graduated from Denver East High School. In 1944, he was drafted into the United States Army and served in "A" company of the 100th battalion of the famed 442d Regimental Combat Team. The 442d RCT was made up entirely of Japanese-American enlisted men and is the most highly decorated unit of its size in U.S. Army history.

Sam was assigned to the 100th battalion as a buck sergeant. He was assigned to lead a mortar squad in combat in both France and Northern Italy. He was part of the famed assault on Northern Italy's Gothic Line that had held Allied forces at bay for more than five months. The nighttime assault was made on the steep slopes and cliffs as a diversionary tactic. The Japanese-American soldiers broke through in mere hours. Within four days, the 442d had taken enough territory that the diversion became the full-scale, victorious offensive that broke the Gothic Line.

For this action, the 100th/442d RCT was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation by General Dwight Eisenhower, the same general who years before had refused to allow the soldiers of the 100th into his own divisions. (Some information in the preceding two paragraphs was paraphrased from Honor by Fire, by Lyn Crost, 1994.)

After the war, Sam attended and graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in pharmacy. He began his career working for his brother, Yutaka, at T.K. Pharmacy, a building that still stands at 27th and Larimer in Denver. While working there, a cut on his hand led him to the office of his brother-in-law, Dr. Thomas Kobayashi. Needing a tetanus shot, a nurse entered and told him to pull down his pants. And that is how he met his wife-to-be, Sara (Miyoshi) Terasaki. According to Sam, "She liked what she saw."

Sam and Sara married in June of 1952 and remained devoted to each other until Sara's death in 2014. Their son, Dean, was born in 1954. The Terasaki family lived in a home on Clayton Street until 1971. Sara was a Nebraska girl. Together they'd make frequent trips to her brothers' farms near North Platte, Nebraska, to take groceries from the old Kojima's market, and later, Pacific Mercantile, to Sara's family.

In the early 1960's, Sam opened a small business, Rocky Mountain Pharmacy, at the corner of 23rd Street and Champa, and then a larger business at the Avondale project near West Colfax and Federal Blvd. The larger business became Econo Drugs, which was part of a small chain of locally-owned drugstores in the Denver metro area. He sold that business in the mid-1970's. Sam then went to work as a pharmacist at Safeway until he retired.

Through those years, Sam and Sara rarely missed a CU Buffs home football game. Routinely in the weeks leading up to the annual Buffs versus Cornhuskers matchup, Sam would cajole his brother-in-law, Miles Miyoshi, to give him "the points and the Buffs" for the high stakes wager of twenty-five cents.

During this same time, he also generously supported his son's desire to become a photographer. Dean eventually graduated from CU and later Arizona State University. Fortunately, Sam had a wonderful sense of humor. Since that time, Dean has taught photography at a large community college near Phoenix.

Sam was always curious about new drugs in development, and he participated in several medical studies. He also enjoyed fishing and golf. Although frequently out-fished by his wife, he continued to share his joy for the sport with nephews, nieces, and grandchildren.

Sam had a great passion for golf and spent hours on Denver public golf courses with brother Yutaka and nephew, Jim Nogami. This was a trio of great story-tellers. The two older siblings undoubtedly shared their business acumen with their nephew as he, to this day, continues to prosper as a small business owner in Denver.

After he retired, Sam would more frequently attend the annual reunions for the 100th/442d RCT. He and Sara re-connected with his old friends from the war and their wives in Las Vegas. Sam became active in educating the larger community of the very special service put forth by members of his military unit. He was interviewed by the Denver Post on the occasion of the award of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Japanese American soldiers who served in the 100th/442d RCT and the Military Intelligence Service during WWII. He was quite passionate that the story of the Japanese American soldiers not be forgotten.

He carried on bravely after Sara's death. He gardened on the independent living apartment's balcony. Sam's tomatoes were in high demand over the years. He was intellectually curious, and the garden presented a wonderful challenge in his new circumstances.

Sam's body was wearing out. Jim's wife, Karen, generously spent hours seeing that he was as comfortable as possible in the last years of his life. Sam was determined to remain independent and was sharp of mind to the end. He had been out of his apartment for meals and a trip to Blackhawk just the week before he passed. He was alert and talking when his son arrived the night before he passed on. Sam Terasaki led a great life. He will be sorely missed.

Memorial gifts can be made to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and sent to 2001 Colorado Blvd; Denver, CO 80205.  Please note "In memory of Sam Terasaki" in a letter accompanying the check.