Reiji Hoshizaki

Reiji Hoshizaki of Hewitt, TX passed away on Thursday, June 3, 2010, at St Elizabeth
Place, Providence Park, and went home to be with the Lord. Memorial services
celebrating his life and faith will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 8, at Columbus Avenue
Baptist Church with the Rev. Ron Durham officiating.

Reiji was born February 6, 1918, in Vacaville, CA. to Kakuzo and Naka Hoshizaki. Upon
graduating high school, he worked as a chick sexer (determines the sex of day-old
chicks). This work led him to Dallas where in 1939 he first heard and believed in the
gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. In 1941, he entered Baylor University, Waco.
Active as a ministerial student, he was part of the Youth led Revival movement that
began there in 1945.!This movement continued for years eventually leading many youth
to trust in Christ as Savior, to full-time ministries and missions.

Reiji graduated from Baylor in 1945, then attended Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Louisville, KY. Graduating in 1948, he married the former Alice Asano Masaki
of Waimea, Kauai. Initially under the invitation of the Japan Baptist Convention (JBC),
they began serving as missionaries to Japan from 1949. Then from 1954, the
International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention officially became their
sending agency.

Churches that Reiji either worked with or started are Oi and Tokiwadai in Tokyo City
(1949 -1951); Shizuoka and Fuji-Yoshida in Shizuoka Prefecture(1951-1961); Nagoya,
Higashiyama and Hirabari in Nagoya City(1962-1980); Toyama(restart) in Toyama
Prefecture(1981-1984).

By the time of their retirement in 1984, the IMB retroactively added their years under the
JBC, giving them a total of 35 years of missionary service. In retirement, they served
briefly in an international church in Hong Kong, then various Japanese groups/churches
in Texas, as well as being active members of the International department of Columbus
Avenue Baptist Church.

Reiji is survived by his wife Alice Asano; daughters Carol Barrett and husband, Jerry of
Hewitt, TX and Sara Hoshizaki of Los Alamos, NM; sonsMark and wife, Wendy and Paul
and wife, Hiroko of Tokyo, Japan; grandchildren Eric Harshman of Albuquerque, NM;
Daniel Hoshizaki of Sacremento, CA and Gail Hoshizaki of Azusa, CA; brothers George
and wife, Masami of Chicago, IL and Casey and wife, Yui of Surprise, AZ; sisters Terry
Takiguchi and husband, Dan of Durham, NC and Mitzi Aono of New Braunfels, TX; and
numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister Jody,
infant daughter Naomi, father Kakuzo; brother Frank, mother Naka; and sister Ayako
Kasai.