Kawata, Kazuyoshi

Kazuyoshi Kawata, an American engineer and missionary, is the son of Japanese immigrants. Kawata grew up in Portland, Oregon. In 1941, he and his family were held in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans. When the U.S. Army began accepting Japanese-Americans as enlistees in 1943, Kawata joined and served in Europe until the end of the war. After his honorable discharge he attended Oregon State College, finishing his degree in 1949. He married Marion Jean Sammis in August, 1949. After Kawata earned his M.S. at the University of Minnesota in 1951, the Kawatas served as missionaries to the Methodist Church in India for fifteen years. "Kaz" Kawata worked as a sanitation engineer, helping to design and implement improved septic and waste disposal systems. He was the first Methodist missionary to serve in such a capacity. Following his missionary service, Kawata returned to the United States to finish his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. He later taught at Johns Hopkins, where he remained until his retirement in 1988. His expertise allowed him the opportunity to continue working around the world through various community health programs.