Todd Isao Endo
December 30, 1941 ~ August 23, 2025
Born in:
Los Angeles, California
Resided in:
Falls Church, Virginia
Todd Isao Endo was born in Los Angeles, California on December 30, 1941, just three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to Frank Aiji Endo and Alice Yuriko Sumida Endo. In 1942, Todd and his family were imprisoned by the U.S. government along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans during World War II. The Endo family was detained at Rohwer Internment Center in Arkansas until 1945. After their release, Todd’s family relocated to Ohio before settling in the Washington, DC area. There Todd grew up and attended school graduating from Wheaton High School in 1959. A strong scholar/athlete, Todd played basketball and baseball, participated in student government, and won the Japanese American Citizens League national oratorical contest in 1962. Todd continued his education at Oberlin College where he met lifelong friends and continued to enjoy academics and play sports (soccer, basketball & squash). He graduated in history in 1963.
Compelled by his family’s experience of unjust treatment during the internment, and urged by his mother Alice to recognize parallels between the Japanese American experience with the unjust treatment of African Americans, Todd became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, participating in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and later taking part in the voting rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama in 1965.
Todd’s sense of justice was rooted in his own family’s experiences along with a deep understanding that history is an ongoing struggle for fairness and equality. When asked later by one of his grandchildren how growing up in a Japanese internment camp shaped how he understood his current place in the world, Todd reflected, “Our experiences are a bridge, and we should build upon them.” This belief that in order to fight for a better world, we must bridge across differences and build community with each other, guided him throughout his life and work.
In pursuit of his goal to help create a better world, Todd began his career in education and community service. He earned his Masters and PhD in Education at Stanford and Harvard Universities. He met Paula Tsukamoto and they married on August 15,1964. Following graduate school, Todd and Paula worked in public education in Putney, Vermont and the Postal Academy in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1969, they returned to the DC area where Todd helped head the Model Urban Cooperative High School, a program leading desegregation efforts in Prince George’s County, Maryland public schools. He also served in the Department of Education and the Rand Corporation, incorporating bilingual programming into public education. He served as Assistant Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, later as Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Fairfax County Public Schools, as well as consulting for the National Institute of Education.
Throughout his career, Todd was dedicated to working with and within school systems, though he always held the perspective that individual rights were paramount. Todd was known to give the advice to new hires, “If you’re going to work in a system, you have to make sure to remember that you work for the community and not for the system.”
In 1991, Todd accepted a USAID-funded job as education advisor in Cairo, Egypt. Paula found a role as teacher of photography at the American University of Cairo and was welcomed into a local artist community. After one year in Cairo, they returned to Arlington and became involved in community building efforts. Todd and Paula helped found the Urban Alternative, a community non-profit in the Arlington Mill neighborhood (formerly Columbia Heights West) in South Arlington, becoming so connected that they moved into the community.
After Todd unofficially retired (though he would never use that word), he remained highly involved in the Columbia Pike revitalization efforts, the Arlington Mill Community Center, Aspire (formerly Greenbrier Learning Center), affordable housing projects, the Arlington Community Foundation, and many other causes.
In 1996 Todd and Paula purchased a home in Rappahannock County, Virginia with longtime friends Scott (friend since middle school) and Marilyn Dimock. They split time between their many community endeavors in Arlington with the more contemplative, peaceful life in their country home. Todd especially enjoyed hiking, gardening, writing, reading, and relishing the view of the mountains. Todd and Paula also became involved in the community of Trinity Episcopal Church in Rappahannock forming new friendships.
Todd and Paula valued their many communities throughout their lives. As young parents, they were part of the “Saturday Night Group,” a special group of families that met regularly over several decades, fulfilling their desire for spiritual connection, intellectual discussion, and built-in childcare. For over 50 years members of this community (now three generations) have gathered together every New Year in Cacapon State Park, West Virginia to eat, hike, talk, and play games and sports.
The Endos’ love of sports and the outdoors was also an opportunity to build community. Todd coached youth soccer for many years. He and Paula organized community volleyball nights at the local school gym and brought many people together to play. Todd and Paula loved camping and backpacking, and they shared their love of the outdoors, adventure, and travel with their friends, kids, and grandkids. Their children, Scott and Erik, fondly remember cross-country road trips to the Rockies, West Coast, Mexico, Canada, and even Alaska. At the center of these adventures was the value of time with family and close friends, the joy of travel, and deep respect for the natural world.
In 2000, Todd became “Papa,” as he was known by his six grandchildren. He cherished the role of being a grandpa. He loved holding the grandbabies, getting down on the ground with the toddlers, and tossing the young ones in the air. Throughout their lives, he shared in the joy of his grandchildren’s activities, from sports and games to music and arts to academic endeavors.
Todd also found meaning in engaging his grandkids in conversations about their lives and the world around them. In 2013 Todd and Paula traveled to Selma, Alabama for the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday March along with their two oldest grandchildren, a truly meaningful experience for both grandkids and grandparents. Referring to this experience and conversations with their grandpa, one of the grandchildren shared, “These conversations helped us understand the importance of our family history (especially internment), and develop a political consciousness. This plus recommending books and talking about his experiences in Selma, were really impactful on my politics at a young age.” Another grandchild agreed, adding, “It helped build values of intergenerational relationships and interest in not only family history, but in tracing the history of resistance and movements for social justice, grounding our political consciousnesses in an understanding of the present as a continuation of past struggles and a bridge to future ones.”
Papa will be remembered by his grandchildren for his intelligence, his pursuit of justice for marginalized communities, and taking time to get to know people as individuals. Rather than talking about his own accomplishments (He was honored for his civil rights involvement with the Japanese American Citizens’ League and was invited to the White House with the Obamas and again later with Senator and civil rights activist John Lewis), Todd focused his energy, passion, and action on the pursuit of justice in the present and his local community in Arlington and the DC area.
By example and through direct conversations, Todd passed on many of his strong values: honesty, fairness, compassion, humility, gratitude, education, advocacy, empowerment, and self-determination. He stressed the importance of discovering what you enjoy, what you are good at, and what contributes positively to society, and then using that self-understanding to actively make the world a better place.
In 2017, Todd and Paula moved into Goodwin House retirement community near Arlington where Paula still resides. There, they eagerly reconnected with many old Arlington friends and built new relationships with individuals from the largely immigrant workforce. Todd enjoyed sharing writing with the Memoirs Group, conversations with a men’s group, and building community over the years with friends and staff.
Todd was cared for towards the end of his life by the wonderful care staff of Goodwin House, good friend Dilma Hernandez, and Erik and Scott. Todd’s sister, daughters-in-law, all six of his grandchildren, and so many close friends from various spheres of life who were able to visit him during his final days. Todd passed away on August 23, 2025 with his boys at his side. He is surrounded in love by Paula, his wife of 61 years, his two sons Scott and Erik Endo, as well as their wives Angie and Jen, his younger sister Marsha Johnson, and his six grandchildren, Aiji, Alice, Ami, Ella, Lila, and Mohali. Todd is preceded in death by his mother, Alice Yuriko Sumida Endo, father, Frank Aiji Endo, sister Cheryl Johnston, and nephew Greg Johnson.
A celebration of life service will be held in the near future. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Todd’s memory may be made to Affordable Homes and Communities (AHC) and Aspire Afterschool Learning.
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The family greatly appreciates donations made to these charities in Todd Isao Endo's name.
Affordable Homes and Communities (AHC)
Attn: Gift Processing, 2230 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100
Arlington,
VA
22201
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Words cannot accurately describe my emotions upon hearing that our beloved Todd Endo has passed. He had a gentle and impactful way of sharing his vast knowledge of the Arlington community and his and experience supporting organizations making a difference in people’s lives. He was one of the first community leaders to provide insight and counsel me when I joined Arlington County Government in 2008. We shared a delicious sushi lunch on Columbia Pike and remained in touch over the years, including dining together at Goodwin House. Arlington is better because of his strong support for people and just causes. He leaves an enduring legacy that will never be forgotten.