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IN MEMORIAM: Yoshi Sawada

Yoshi Sawada (l) passed away last Friday after a brief and unexpected illness. “Many Go Congress participants will remember Yoshi best for the extremely popular lecture series he gave every year with Maeda Ryo 6P (r),” says Steve Burrall. “The lectures were on ‘The Maeda Method,’ and the term ‘translator’ does not begin to describe the way in which Yoshi brought the concepts to life for the audience. Those of us who were blessed to have him as a close part our lives know that his constant desire was to help people and make them happy, and he was amazing at it.” American Go Association President Allan Abramson called Sawada an "invaluable asset, working behind the scenes to avoid and to smooth over many problems. His honesty was unparalleled. His willingness to help unexcelled. His laughter a delight. This is both a personal loss and a great loss for the go community." Sawada is survived here by his wife Keiko, two sisters and nieces and nephews back in Japan. “Bring your favorite pictures of and stories about Yoshi to the Santa Barbara Congress,” adds Burrall, “and we will have a time and place to share them.” - photo by Jake Edge