Al & Jane Nakatani
Al and Jane Nakatani were a Japanese American couple from Hawai‘i whose personal tragedy turned them into nationally recognized advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness, LGBTQ acceptance, and anti-discrimination education. They had three sons—Glen, Greg, and Guy—two of whom came out as gay and each of whom died young. Greg died in 1986 at age 23 after being shot in a dispute over a car. Glen, 29, died four years later from an AIDS-related illness, Guy, 26, died of similar causes in 1994.
In 1997, they co-authored a book with Molly Fumia titled Honor Thy Children: One Family’s Journey to Wholeness, in which they shared their heartache, struggles and activism in honor of their sons. The book wove together themes of parental love, cultural expectations, faith, and resilience, and it was later adapted into a documentary of the same name. The Nakatanis used these platforms to promote compassion and awareness, speaking to schools, churches, community groups, and conferences across the United States.
Al passed away in 2023 with his loving wife by his side. His obituary can be seen here.
In 2018, Al and Jane Nakatani shared their story in the National AIDS Memorial’s Surviving Voices series:
Before he passed away in 2023, Al Nakatani shared a deeper oral history with Okaeri, a Nikkei (Japanese and Japanese American) LGBTQ+ community organization dedicated to creating visbility, compassionate spaces, and transformation for LGBTQ+ Nikkei and their families.
Additional Resource: Two parents Learn from Pain, by Tim Ryan in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 15, 2013.