Hello,

My name is Alex Raiber, I attend Drexel University and I am the club president for our team. I just want to respond very briefly to the discussion concerning our Sensei, Susumu Kurokawa, or, as he went by, "Sam".
I personally am honored to have known Sam for 3 years now, working closely with him to keep the club going and get people interested. We have been exposed to much of the Judo community through him and he was a vital part of our lives.
It is really not surprising that some of you were able to already get the impression of Sam in 30 minutes. He was a warm, kind, caring, helpful, intelligent, experienced incredible individual. He never once would neglect his students in a classroom or on the Mat. He was always compassionate towards everyone and understanding of all situations.
I can say many more things about him, but I will try to keep it short.

Once we arrived to the hospital he was immediately taken to the emergency room. After 30 minutes in the waiting room we received the announcement that he had passed away.

We are still unsure what the causes were for this. He was a 51 year old Japanese man, in incredible shape (constantly practicing Judo, Karate, Kempo. He was also a professor in Management at Drexel university). The events came as a complete surprise, there was absolutely no fore-telling of it and the entire event just feel completely surreal.

I will make sure to to relay your messages to Sam's friends, affiliates, club members and to his family.
On behalf of the entire club, we will all truly miss him and we appreciate the concern and condolences. He was an incredible person and he will be missed very dearly.

Thanks again.

Respectfully,
Alex Raiber
President of Drexel University Judo
 
http://faculty.lebow.drexel.edu/KurokawaS/index31.htm