U-46 teacher had impact on community

Frank Hayashida was a teacher, plain and simple. And he was loved for it.

"He was the kind of teacher that the kids really wanted," his wife of 35 years, Joan Hayashida said. "He respected his students, and he made them feel important."

The Elgin resident and 37-year Elgin Area School District U-46 elementary school teacher died Wednesday after a short illness. He was 76.

Born in Alhambra, Calif., Hayashida moved to the area as a child, graduating high school from Marmion Military Academy in Aurora. After serving in the Korean War as a combat infantryman, Hayashida attended Marquette and Northern Illinois universities, student teaching at U-46 in the spring of 1960.

He was hired immediately to teach at newly built Hanover Countryside Elementary in Streamwood.

It was at the school that Frank and Joan Hayashida first met, both assigned to teach fourth grade.

The pair married in 1963, teaching at the school for 8 years together.

In the school's early years, Joan Hayashida likened Streamwood to "a brand-new community where everyone had moved out from Chicago."

A few of the school's students, Joan Hayashida said, needed a stern hand. "Frank generally got those students," she said. "They blossomed."

Frank Hayashida continued at the school until 1997 before retiring.

When students would run into him around town, "the kids would be get so excited," Joan Hayashida said.

Some, even as adults, had trouble calling him by his first name. "He was always Mr. Hayashida to them," she said.

In recent years, Frank and Joan enjoyed taking rides around town and catching up with one another. "We had so much fun," she said.

In addition to his wife, Frank Hayashida is survived by his daughter Christy, his son Michael, and four grandchildren. Visitation will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State Street in Elgin. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 215 Thomas More Drive, Elgin.

Call (847) 741-8800.