Family of Gordon Kusayanagi carries on his passion for music
with a memorial scholarship
Gilroy – Gordon Kusayanagi’s family is using his tragic death last fall as a chance to do something positive for the community.
The 52-year-old was killed while vacationing in Las Vegas with his wife and friends Sept. 21 when a motorist intentionally slammed a car into a crowd of pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. Kusayanagi was one of 14 people injured in the incident and one of three who died from the senseless attack.
“The accident itself was horrifying,” said Kusayanagi’s son Scott. “My uncle and my dad were walking side by side, five inches apart.”
His uncle looked over his shoulder and then Gordon was gone. His aunt, a nurse at Saint Louise Regional Hospital, did all she could to help revive him while his wife of more than 30 years watched in horror. She dialed her son to let him know there was an accident, but all Scott heard was screaming in the background.
“It’s so easy to get dragged into the whole tragedy of it,” Scott said. “Now it’s time to do something positive. We really wanted people to understand what was taken away from so many people. He wasn’t just my dad.”
The family is establishing a memorial scholarship for the man who once served as a board member for the Gilroy Garlic Festival, president of Little League and owner of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
But before any of that, Kusayanagi was a member of Savannah, a popular rock band that toured the west coast in the 1970s. For about seven years before his death, Kusayanagi played in Scott’s cover band “10 til 2,” in gigs across the Bay Area.
And that is what his family is hoping people will remember him for – the life he lived, rather than his untimely death.
On the flight to Las Vegas, Scott and his sister built up hope, thinking their father was just going to be hurt for awhile. But it was not to be.
“It was almost immediate that we had to do something,” Scott said. “I thought we have to keep the bands going because dad would want that … We are trying to find a way to use something completely negative to something positive.”
The family is in the process of forming a foundation to benefit Live Oak High School – where Kusayanagi graduated – to benefit students who have a proven interest in furthering their music education. The first benefit concert will be held today at The Claddagh at 6pm where Scott will perform with his father’s former band mates in Savannah.
“He put the dreams aside and went to work for IBM,” Scott said.
Kusayanagi became a family man, raising his children in Gilroy and teaching them to appreciate music. After all, he and his wife met while working as an accompanist for her women’s music group at Gavilan College.
It wasn’t until Kusayanagi encouraged Scott to put down the drum sticks and pick up the guitar that led to him become 10 til 2’s front man. In return, his son encouraged him to come play with his band.
Things started small, but pretty soon promoters started calling them to play, Scott said.
“We figured we were a garage band that played at The Claddagh,” he said. “Things were looking pretty good before Sept. 21.”
Kusayanagi was soft-spoken, but he had a lot to say about sports, about life. Often Scott’s friends would turn to his father for advice.
The driver who killed him may not stand trial, Scott said. Stephen M. Ressa, who was 27 at the time of the accident, has been placed in a mental facility in Nevada after stabbing a guard with a pencil before his trial began.
“For me, I don’t even care about that anymore. What happens with him happens,” Scott said.
This past Christmas was difficult for the Kusayanagi family, but there is a gift that is making it a little easier for them.
“My sister is pregnant – that was her gift to my mom,” Scott said. “She’s due on my dad’s birthday, Aug. 1. And it’s going to be a boy. It’s kind of eerie, but it’s beautiful.”
For more information about how to donate visit www.gordonrocks.org, call 800-495-7100, or mail checks to Gordon Kusayanagi Memorial Music Scholarship Fund, South Valley National Bank, 8000 Santa Teresa Blvd., Gilroy, CA 95020.
