Sixty-five years as a practicing attorney have done nothing to change the values with which Vernon Tashima first set out.
"People say it all the time, but honesty really is the best policy," Tashima says. "I always try to be honest. I don’t fake it. And I believe that you have to treat everybody with respect, no matter who they are."
It’s Tashima’s adherence to such easy-to-say, hard-to-live principles that has sustained him through a career that started in the territorial era, blossomed through statehood and Honolulu’s growth as a major U.S. city and continues to this day.
It’s his sharp mind, legal expertise and ethical clarity that keep his in-box full of urgent requests from clients who refuse to allow him to retire.
"I feel flattered when people ask if I’m still practicing, still golfing, still driving," he says, chuckling. "I think, ‘Well, gee, am I not supposed to be?’"
Tashima grew up in Pahoa on Hawaii island, the youngest of seven children born to two immigrants from Japan.
He recalls the hard work his father performed harvesting sugar cane to support the family. He and his siblings got their own firsthand understanding of plantation work as part of grade school curricula under the Future Farmers of America.
Tashima graduated from Hilo High School, then earned a pre-law degree from the University of Hawaii in 1941.
World War II interrupted Tashima’s studies, and he spent two years in the Army, serving with the locally based 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.
Tashima married his hometown sweetheart, Caroline, shortly after he was drafted. Their daughter Susan was born just shortly after he was discharged, and he left Hawaii to attend law school.
Tashima graduated from the University of Kansas in 1949 and quickly returned to Honolulu, where he found work as deputy city attorney under Honolulu Mayors John Wilson and Neal Blaisdell. In 1959 Tashima left to work as house counsel for Henry Kaiser’s Hawaii Kai development project.
Tashima eventually opened his own practice, using his experience in land acquisitions and development to forge a career, the impact of which is evident in condominium and other housing developments from Hawaii Kai to Mililani.
Tashima could have retired decades ago, but he enjoys his work and he’s committed to his clients, many of whom have become close personal friends.
"I figured I’d keep moving," he says. "It keeps my mind sharp. I don’t want to sit around the house and do nothing."
Caroline Tashima died eight years ago — "we were married for 62 years, six months and 11 days," Tashima says — but her living legacy with Tashima includes three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, most of whom will be on hand Saturday as Tashima celebrates his 95th birthday.
"I’m nobody special," Tashima says, apparently relaxing his code of honesty. "I’ve had an ordinary life."
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.
