Obituary: Richard Hong, 1929-2023

Richard Hong, loving father, husband, physician, teacher and passionate tennis player, died peacefully on February 4, 2023, at Wake Robin Life Plan Retirement Community in Shelburne, Vt. He was 94 years old. Dick was greatly loved by his many family members, colleagues and friends, and his unique sparkle will be missed.

Dick was born on January 10, 1929, the youngest of six children. His parents, William Hong and Louise See, along with Dick’s three oldest siblings, emigrated from a small village near Guangzhou, China. They settled in Danville, Ill., where Dick was born and where they founded and operated Danville’s only Chinese restaurant. Dick’s parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his older brothers, whose belief in hard work, excellence, assimilation and the importance of education guided his upbringing. 

Dick’s natural curiosity and intellect were encouraged in school, where he found confidence and success in a small, white, homogeneous community. He often noted the critical importance of all of his teachers to the course of his life. He followed his brothers to the University of Illinois for his undergraduate degree and achieved his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. While in medical school, he met Marion Taylor, a nursing student at Northwestern School of Nursing. They were married in May 1952 and, a year later, started their family of four children.

After a rotating internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Dick was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and for two years served as Chief of the Surgical Services Section and Chief of the Outpatient Clinic at the 2793rd USAF Hospital, McClellan AFB, in California. 

Following a desire for specialty training, Dick moved on to a residency position in pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. During his residency, Dick became interested in the fledgling field of immunology and completed a fellowship in immunology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He then took a position as a new faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and the Division of Immunology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was here that he had the privilege of being a member of the team directed by Dr. Robert A. Good that performed the first-ever successful bone marrow transplant in a human.

In 1968, Dick joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin as professor of pediatrics, pathology and medical microbiology. He established the Immunology Section of the UW Clinical Laboratories, which served as a regional diagnostic facility for the diagnosis and characterization of primary immunodeficiency disorders and autoimmune diseases. His major career research interest involved the characterization and treatment of immune deficiency disorders in both children and adults. Dick developed a method for transplanting the thymus gland into children who are born without that organ, overcoming the particular challenges of thymus rejection. He spent the later years of his research career perfecting the technique. It was his hope that thymic transplantation would be able to cure AIDS, although this did not prove to be the case.

In 1993, at the age of 64, Dick and Marion relocated to Charlotte, Vt., to be near two of their children and Marion’s family in New Hampshire. Dick joined the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont, and he continued his research at the UVM Cancer Center until retiring in 2008.

Marion and Dick moved to Wake Robin in 2007, where he found a stimulating community and many new friends, and he continued teaching, mentoring and learning. He especially loved tennis, which he had taken up at the tender age of 40 and pursued passionately. At Wake Robin, he was fondly known as “Coach” by many residents and staff for organizing and managing an enthusiastic group for tennis instruction and play. He helped residents with their computer problems and for years taught Photoshop skills at CVU Access. Always artistic, he found outlets in fine woodworking, drawing, cartooning and creating elaborate, humorous awards for his tennis cohort. Dick’s enthusiasm, impish sense of humor and unfailing ability never to take himself too seriously brought laughter and brightness to all who knew him, especially to children. Dick — or Deek, as he was fondly known by family — was never afraid to be silly, and his own children and grandchildren were the special beneficiaries of his delightful sense of play.

Marion died in 2012, after 60 years of marriage and adventures with Dick. He was fortunate to find new love and companionship with Linda Thompson at Wake Robin for the last nine years. 

Throughout his fascinating and storied life, Dick was a giver and a gifted teacher. His greatest delight was not only stirred by the accolades of a stellar medical career but also by the many “aha!” moments he witnessed as a conduit for knowledge and heightened curiosity in others. He loved when an analogy brought clarity or when discussions sparked questions and motivation for compassion and excellence. He brought his teaching gifts to his parenting, his many years as a medical school faculty member, his clinical practice, his desire to be proficient in tennis and to all of his pursuits as he shared knowledge with others. 

He expressed his philosophy of life in this way: “Each of us occupies X number of cubic feet of space in this world. As our population expands, that X number gets smaller and smaller. I have to look into the mirror each day when I shave. My goal was to never feel guilty about taking up my X number of cubic feet.”

Richard Hong was vibrant, buoyant, generous and kind. He had an enormous influence on many people throughout his entire life. At a huge family celebration of his 90th birthday, Dick was overwhelmed and humbled by the testimony not only of his children and grandchildren but also of many, many students he had mentored and inspired. He will surely rest easy, knowing that he filled his allotted X cubic feet with love and laughter. The world is a better place for all who knew him, and he is deeply missed.

Dick is survived by his four children, Susan (James Barker) of Charlotte, Vt., Steven, of Boulder, Colo., Andrew (Christine) of Glen Head, N.Y., and Laura (Tom Kovach) of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; his nine grandchildren, Kate MacShane, Sarah Barker, Ben Barker, Alex Hong, Matty Hong, Stephen Hong, Adam Hong, Camille Kovach and Lucy Kovach; his two great-grandchildren, Eve and Galen MacShane; and his partner, Linda Thompson.

The family is grateful to the Wake Robin staff for providing such excellent and compassionate care to Dick, particularly in the last year of his life. A memorial service at Wake Robin Life Plan Retirement Community in Shelburne is planned for the future. Memorial gifts may be made to Community Health Centers of Burlington (chcb.org) or Kids on the Ball youth tennis (kidsontheball.com). 

Please visit awrfh.com to express condolences and sign the guest book.

This article appears in Feb 15-21, 2023.