Funeral services set for former All-Mid-Am Northern Illinois men's golfer Harry Kitahata
DeKALB, IL --- Funeral services for former Northern Illinois University men’s golfer Harry Kitahata---one of the first All-Mid-American Conference links performers in Huskie history---are scheduled for Thursday (April 7) in San Ramon, CA.

The 43-year-old Kitahata passed away last Friday (April 1). His death was a shock to all family, friends, former teammates and his Northern Illinois golf coach Jack Pheanis.

“It’s so sad,” Pheanis said. “Harry was one of the best golfers we ever had. When I found out from (NIU teammate) Bob Dickman, I felt so bad. He was such a hard-worker. You know, Harry was not a big person, but he was a great putter, he worked at his game, and he had great course management. He was a much better player than he thought he was, believe me.

“Harry was just a Super Huskie. He always came through when our program needed something. He had a stroke about 10 years ago. Still, this is all hard to believe,” Pheanis added.

A Chicago native and a graduate of St. Patrick High School, Kitahata lettered four times for the Huskie linksmen (1981-84). As a junior, he earned First-Team All-MAC honors and tied for fifth place at the 1983 Mid-Am Championships on the Forrest Creason Golf Course at Bowling Green State University.

The diminutive 5-foot-7 Kitahata put together a 75 - 76 - 73 - 70 --- 294 scorecard at the MAC meet and finished only three strokes behind the conference medalist Kirk Schooley of Ball State (291 total). His final round score on the 6,580-yard BGSU layout---a two under par 34 - 36 (70)---featured nine straight pars on the back nine. “I can’t expect to do much better than that,” Kitahata said afterwards, commenting on his 11 putts on the front and 16 on the back.

That spring both Kitahata and teammate Drew LaBarbera earned All-MAC honors. Only two other Huskie golfers---NIU Athletics Hall of Fame golfers Mick Soli and Greg Dick---had been named All-Mid-Am selections prior to 1983. Soli was a three-time All-MAC pick in 1974-76 and Dick repeated the feat in 1978-79.

A two-time Northern Illinois golf co-captain (1982-83 and 1983-84), Kitahata signed a National Letter of Intent with Pheanis’ program on May 29, 1980. At St. Patrick’s, he ruled the East Suburban Catholic Conference meet in 1979. Twice the Shamrocks’ Most Valuable Golfer, Kitahata was also the medalist at the Northern Illinois Men’s Golf Association Illinois-Indiana Challenge Cup match with a 73 on the demanding Kemper Lakes Country Club in the summer of 1979.

As an undergrad, Kitahata was a two-time candidate for the school’s prestigious John Lalonde Scholar-Athlete Award and rated among the school’s top accountancy students. He graduated from NIU in 1984 and immediately joined Arthur Andersen & Company as a certified public accountant.

At the time of his death, Kitahata was the second vice president (investments) at Smith Barney in Walnut Creek, CA.
He also worked at Quaker Oats.

He is survived by his wife Miyako Ichikawa, a daughter Minori Grace, his mother Naoko, and his brother Thomas. He was preceded in death by his father Shozo Kitahata and a daughter “Angel” Kate.

Services are set at the St. Joan of Arc Church, 2601 San Ramon Valley Boulevard, in San Ramon, CA, Thursday (April 7) at 11 a.m. (PDT). Visitation is scheduled Wednesday (April 6) from 4 to 7 p.m., followed by a vigil service at Oakmont Mortuary, 2099 Reliez Valley Road, in Lafayette, CA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Northern Illionis University Intercollegiate Athletics, in memory of Harry Kitahata, DeKalb, IL 60115. For further information on the Kitahata memorial, call NIU Athletics Development at (AC 815) 753-1816.

-NIU- ---MIKE KORCEK