Harry Koga

At Remake The Circle, 1993

Richard Harry Shunya Koga
15 Jun 1952 - 23 Sep 1994

Clubs & Associations

Quick Facts

appeared on Jeopardy in 1992

Obituary

KOGA, Richard Harry Shunya — in San Mateo, September 23, 1994; son of the late Hisayo Koga; nephew of Paul Kiyoshi Kitagaki of So. S.F. and Kimiko Wong of Oakland; uncle of Gregory Nakamura of Castro Valley and Coleen Nakamura of Alhambra; also survived by many cousins. A native of San Mateo. Aged 42 years. Graduate of San Mateo High & U.C. Berkeley; employed by U.C. Berkeley.

Funeral Service Thur., Sept. 29, 1994 at 7ː00 P.M. at San Mateo Buddhist Temple, 2 South Claremont, San Mateo. The funeral procession will leave the church at 10ː00 A.M. Friday for Cremation Service at Olivet Memorial Park, Colma.^[1]

Remembrances

Harry Koga, a Student Affairs Assistant from Berkeley, CA appeared on Jeopardy!, Dec 16, 1992, and won $16,800. Unfortunately he was not so lucky the next day. But it was very exciting for all of us to see him on Jeopardy! He was a great guy! On New Year’s Day he invited WSD down to his parents home in San Mateo. New Years is the most important holiday for Japanese and "is traditionally spent with family members and close relatives. In our family, all the aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered at my grandmother's house to eat, drink, talk, and play games. This was one of the few times during the year when we would see all of our cousins at once. There were nearly twenty children in the house running around, playing, and fighting.” - Taeko Shiota, Assistant
This was so true for Harry, his extended family was there along with his Gay Square Dance “family”. We all shared unending plates of food that covered table after table; and celebrated each other’s company and the Holiday. It was a time of beautiful diversity that I remember to this day - and cherish.
— Scott Carey ^[2]

Harry was a great guy, my second best friend (Cap being my bestie). His mom was quite a character; she and Harry would be in the kitchen at the New Year's Day gatherings making sushi rolls with assembly line efficiency, after which she would go around offering them to us with the order "You eat. You eat." Which we did, over and over. Her English was very limited, so after we were all fed, she'd retreat to her room to watch Japanese soap operas.

She was actually born in the United States, but as the eldest daughter in a family without sons, she'd been sent back to Japan at an early age to get a formal Japanese education, which had heavily influenced her upbringing of Harry--probably the politest person I've ever known. On the other hand, Auntie Kim--his mother's hip younger sister--was Americanized through and through. One time she rolled her eyes, sighed and said "Sometimes Harry is too Japanese for me to deal with."
— Russ King ^[3]