Cary was the third generation of his family to work in Japan, which arrived as missionaries in 1878. He was born in Japan himself, but went to the U.S. for college.
While studying at Amherst College in Massachusetts, World War II broke out, and Cary ended up as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was put to work as an interpreter, interrogating Japanese prisoners of war. He was able to convince many of the prisoners that they should not feel shame at being captured alive, but rather feel they were “individuals who deserved to have a bright future aiding the reconstruction of a new, democratic Japan,” said U.S. diplomat Ulrich Strauss.
After the war Cary returned to Japan, taking a position as a history professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto, where he stayed for 49 years, and helped establish an American Studies program. During his tenure he served for 33 years as the director of Amherst House, a special dorm for particularly bright students, acting as their mentor. Cary was awarded Japan’s Order of Sacred Treasure (Third Class) in 1987. He retired in 1996 and moved back to the U.S. He died at age 84 on April 14 in Oakland, Calif., from pneumonia.