Gifted physician, researcher and professor brought laughter and brightness to all who knew him
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…
Gifted physician, researcher and professor brought laughter and brightness to all who knew him
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…