A Soldier's Strategy for Easing Estate Planning Stress

“My dad was a World War II Army veteran, so I visited a local recruiter that summer,” Takao said. “I was greeted with, ‘Have you graduated high school?’” To the recruiter’s surprise, the fresh-faced college graduate’s scores qualified her for every military occupational specialty (MOS). The program she was interested in didn’t have training until December, so Takao left disappointed but with a plan. “I drove to my dad’s barber shop and said, ‘I think I just joined the Army.’”

A few weeks later, more MOS trainings opened—including her top choice of fixed cryptographic equipment repair. “It was a fouryear enlistment, and I had to leave that weekend,” Takao recalled. “My parents were out of town, so I called to let them know I was leaving for basic training. The recruiter picked me up on Sunday morning at 4 a.m., and my military career began. It was definitely a whirlwind moment, which was probably a good thing because it didn't give me much time to think.”

An Aggie Recruit

Through her impressive 20-year Army career, stationed in Belgium, Germany and bases across the nation, Takao earned her peers' respect and was offered opportunities to grow her leadership and education. However, one of her most memorable opportunities occurred when she was commissioned a second lieutenant and was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, where she met her husband of 25 years, Alan.
 

Raised in Oregon, Alan was unfamiliar with Texas A&M until Takao treated him to Midnight Yell and a football game when they were in between assignments. “On the way to Midnight Yell, he was poking fun,” she said, “but after the football game, he mentioned that we should come back.”

Four years later, the opportunity presented itself when Takao was accepted into the Army’s fully funded graduate degree program and joined Texas A&M’s industrial engineering department as a master’s student in fall 1986. At that point, Alan—a lieutenant colonel—had transitioned from active duty to the Army Reserve and wasn’t about to miss his chance to become an Aggie. He followed suit, earning a master’s in industrial engineering in 1993.

During this time, the couple developed a strong appreciation for Aggieland and knew one day they’d probably return for the long haul. “When it came to money, Alan was tighter than bark on a tree,” Takao smiled, “so it surprised me when he bought an Aggie Ring because they weren’t cheap. He drank the Kool-Aid and was officially an Aggie.”

Planning Her Next Move

In 1995, a couple bases later, Takao retired from the Army as a major and she and Alan moved to Bryan. Both sports enthusiasts, they ushered Aggie football and basketball games, and Takao even used her GI Bill to earn her Ph.D. in educational administration—a degree she later used working for the university.