Professor Tanjiro Okubo

1915 – 2012

Tanjiro Okubo passed away in Victoria on March 17, 2012. Predeceased by his wife, Waka; he leaves to mourn his daughter, Miyako (Kim Wakefield); his grandchildren, Nicholas and Mariko, all of Edmonton; his brother, Takashi of Tokyo and sister, Tomo, of Osaka. Tanjiro was born in Osaka, Japan in 1915 and received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Tokyo. After teaching at Washington State University, Montana State University and UCLA, he emigrated to Canada in 1966 to take a position as a mathematics professor at McGill University in Montreal. He had a distinguished academic career which included many visiting professorships and publications, including a major published work on differential geometry. After retirement to Victoria, he volunteered as a visiting professor in mathematics at the University of Victoria and continued to work as a peer reviewer for Zentralblatt, a German based mathematics journal. He was also an accomplished Japanese calligrapher. He was a kind and generous man with a great sense of optimism which guided his life. A heartfelt thanks to the staff of 2 Maple at Oak Bay Lodge for their care and kindness.

A Memorial Service for Tanjiro will be held in McCall Bros. Family Chapel, Johnson & Vancouver Streets in Victoria, BC, at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2012. Reception to follow. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. Condolences may be offered to the family below.

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