Estes, Donald, 1936-2005

Biography / Administrative History

Donald Hamilton Estes was born in Nebraska in 1936. He and his family moved to the San Diego North Park neighborhood in 1939. He entered San Diego City College in 1954, and completed BA and Masters degrees from San Diego State University by 1966.

In 1960, Estes began teaching Advanced History and Government at La Jolla High School, leaving the school in 1967 to become Professor of History and Political Science at San Diego City College. From 1969 to 1973 he also served as Adjunct Professor of Education at the University of California at San Diego, and held a similar position at San Diego State University during 1974-1975. Also during the 1970s, Estes performed curriculum development work for the California Department of Education and served as a Fellowships Program Evaluator for the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1986 San Diego City College awarded Estes the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching. He retired from San Diego City College in 2003.

Estes sat on the Board of the San Diego Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League from 1967 on, and served twice as president. He was a founding member of the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego (JAHSSD) and served that organization as historian, curator and in other significant capacities. Estes was among the first historians to serve on the Scholarly Advisory Board of the Japanese American National Museum beginning in 1989. Estes' oral history interviews and research produced six books, published between 1971 and 1996. He also authored numerous scholarly articles, many published in the Journal of San Diego History. Estes also curated exhibitions and served as adviser or director of several films and video productions. At the time of his death, Estes was working on an extensive history of the Japanese in America.

According to Ben Segawa, founding president and executive director of the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego, Estes was the acknowledged expert on the history of our community, the heart and soul of our organization. He was known as an inspiring teacher and in his scholarly pursuits, addressed what he called a natural void that was waiting to be filled. Estes both collected and generated significant materials that would otherwise not be available for research today. He died on May 7, 2005 at the age of 68.