Thank You!

Many thanks to everyone who joined us at Walker Meadow Clubhouse yesterday to celebrate Norio's life. We enjoyed seeing you--some of you for the first time, others for the first time in 40 years--and hearing your memories. Thanks for sharing.

More from the Worcester Telegram Guestbook

(The original posts can be read here)
Thank you all for sharing your memories and kind words.

We at Dears Laundry send our love and prayers to the family. We were lucky enough to know Dr. Higano and Mrs. Higano for years, making his shirts look sharp. He will be missed and thought of. Our love to the family. The Dear Family
Chrissy & Victor Dear (Worcester, MA)

I have been saddened by the recent news that Dr. Higano has passed away. For about 35 years, I was a patient of his, and always received the very best of care and treatment from him. He was always available when needed, which was much appreciated. I also enjoyed his friendliness and wry sense of humor. I have certainly missed him since he retired. Sending my sincere condolences to Mrs. Dorothy Higano and all the family.
Victoria Aberhart (Shrewsbury, MA)

Dear Mrs. Higano and family:
I was a patient of Dr. Higano's for many years. His expertise in the field of nuclear medicine saved my life. Every appointment was a pleasant experience Mrs. Higano to see you at that front desk. The two of you worked so well together. I will miss Dr. Higano and felt very bad when he retired and now I feel very very sad.
Pauline Taparausky (Worcester, MA)

Hi Mrs. H! I am so sorry for your loss. Dr. H was a gift from GOD. He took care of me, my mother and two sisters from 1966 to retirement. God bless you and your family. Love, Bev Tavano
Beverly Tavano (Worcester, MA)

Mrs. Higano and family,
We are sorry for your loss. Please accept our condolences.
Dr. Higano was my doctor from 1966 to his retirement. He also took care of my 2 sister.
He was a kind, compassionate and wise doctor and we all loved him.
May he rest in the arms of God and may God comfort you and your family.
Julie Pierce (Millbury, MA)

Dr. Higano,
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. He sounds like a really wonderful man and a great doctor. Your family is in my prayers.
Ann Reece, RN--MBMC (Belleville, IL)

From an old family friend

Stann posted this in the comments section, but it's so lovely that we wanted to put it up front. Thank you, Stann.

I have thought about Dr. Higano a lot during the past few days and have realized that I cannot do justice in this forum to my feelings for him. I have had an immense amount of respect for his kindness and gentleness as a human being, and for his competence and caring as a doctor. I was fortunate to be able to interact with him in many different ways – I met him and knew him first as a person, then as an employee, and then as someone cared for by him. In each role, his innate sense of humanity shone through and guided his actions. As a physician, he visited patients at their home and in long-term care facilities, long after these visits ceased being the norm among his colleagues. I remember his “half days” of office appointments stretching easily to eight hours because of patient’s needs – usually after he had already spent time at the hospital working in his lab. He was up and out early and home late.

Dr. Higano’s thoughtfulness was not limited to his work. When he was already physically impaired, Dr. Higano made a tremendous effort to attend my son’s Bar Mitzvah. Even though he was already weak with limited mobility, and he had to come a long distance, he marshaled his energy and participated in this event. My family will never forget the example of caring and strength he demonstrated by coming.

Dr. Higano had many interests outside of medicine. He was a proud photographer and calligrapher. He also made the best mashed potatoes on the eastern seaboard. Of course he might have been helped had he had an electric spoon, but that’s another story. Most of all, I think Dr. Higano was most proud of his children and grandchildren – of their independence and who they were. You could see this pride and his happiness whenever he was visited and family discussions turned to skiing, medicine, writing, restaurants, bicycling, colleges, politics, how to use the latest gadget, how to carve the turkey, football - it didn’t make any difference as long as his family was there.

Finally, Dr. Higano touched my life personally in a very, very special way. I cannot put into words the depth of my appreciation to Dr. and Mrs. Higano when they rescued me from a forced stay in a nursing home for recuperation from a bad car accident. They took me into their home for several months until I was physically able to return home to finish getting well. They also looked out for my mother throughout this crisis. In this, Dr. and Mrs. Higano not only showed their humanity, but also how much of their wonderful qualities rubbed off on their family. Tia, Prilla, and Stuart didn’t simply put up with me in their parents’ home – rather I always felt welcomed as part of the family. The sharing of that caring attitude must have come from the example of their parents. This is a wonderful family and our family's sincere condolences go to all of them on their loss.

Some more memories

Courtesy of the Worcester Telegram online guestbook
To everyone who has commented, both here and there: thank you.

Dr. Higano was the beloved and dedicated physician of my grandmother, Lucy Catino, mother, Vi Lombardi, aunt, Candy DeLoriea, and uncle, Frank Catino. He was revered and trusted as no other. His retirement from practice left a void, now his passing an even greater void. He will be remembered as a truly great doctor, healer, and friend. I will never forget the house calls he made to my grandmother when she was too ill to go to see him, they broke the mold.........May he rest in peace and God bless you, Mrs. Higano and your family. Janet Lombardi
Janet Lombardi (Boylston, MA)

To the Higano family-
I worked for Dr. Bruce Brown from 1973 until he retired. I remember Dr. Higano well and, if I recall correctly, he used to go on the annual golf trip to Mad River, VT. where his picture remained on the wall until Dr. Brown sold the house. Please accept my sympathy at this time, but never forget that he helped thousands of people and was a wonderful physician and human being.
Peggy Pomphrey (Berlin, MA)

Mrs. Higano and Family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time. Dr. Higano was my doctor from about 1967 until his retirement. I have often thought of him over the years since. He was a wonderful person and a great doctor. He always took the time to talk with me and ask about my family. His care continued into the second generation of my family when my daughter had the same problem. We will all miss him. God Bless you all.
Lorraine Thurlow (Canterbury, CT)

On behalf of my family please accept our condolences. We are sorry to hear of your families loss. My father and Dr. Higano worked together at Memorial Hospital for many years until my Dad's retirement . Dad always spoke highly of Dr. Higano. He was sad to hear of your loss.
Matthew Hochman (Los Angeles, CA)

To the Higano family-
It is with great sadness that I learned of Dr. Higano's passing. As an alumnus of UMass Medical School and the residency program at Memorial Hospital, I knew him well, felt he was always an advocate for his patients and contributed greatly to our teaching and training. He was truly a pioneer of Worcester medicine and will be missed.
Andrew Miller, MD (Douglas, MA)

Dr. Higano was one of the few doctors at the war time Minidoka Relocation Center at Hunt Idaho. He performed a great service for ten thousand evacuees in time of need.
Frank Tashiro (Seattle, WA)

We were so sorry to hear of your loss. Our thoughts are with you at this time of sorrow. Dr. Higano was our Doctor for many years and took care of my aunt when she had no Doctor. He will be missed.
Nancy and Mike Trotto (Shrewsbury, MA)

I am so sorry for your loss. He was my doctor for many years, until his retirement. He was a great man.
Rosellen Roy (Oxford, MA)

Dr. Higano saved my life with his wisdom, knowledge and most of all his love for what he did everyday "HEAL PEOPLE." My prayers are with Dorothy and her family.
God's love, Elaine
Elaine David (Worcester, MA)

My condlences to Dr. Higano's family. He was a wonderful Doctor &
a kind & caring man. Dr. Higano treated myself and & 2 sisters for a very long time. We will miss you, rest in peace.
Mary Ann Lavin (Holden, MA)

My sympathy to Mrs. Higano and her family at this time of loss.
Dr. Higano was my doctor for many, many years.
Respectfully,
Phyllis Kaseta (Auburn, MA)

A doctor who became a friend and who changed my life forever. He started me on injectable B-12 and as a result I am now in my 57th year as a diabetic. I will always remember his laugh when told a joke. Please sleep warm Norio, sleep warm...
Elmer Ellison (Grafton, MA)

Welcome

This is a space for the friends and family of Norio Higano to share their thoughts and memories. We loved him, and will miss him very much.

Obituary

As seen in the Worcester Telegram, 6.18.07

Norio Higano, M.D died on Saturday June 16th at his home in Westborough after a long illness. Born in Seattle in 1921, Dr. Higano graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1943 and received his M.D. from the St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1945. He was a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honor societies. He completed his internal medicine internship at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, NY and residency at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. He went on to complete a research fellowship under Dr. C. Sidney Burwell at Harvard University. In 1952, he joined The Research Laboratory at The Memorial Hospital in Worcester and later founded the Nuclear Medicine Laboratory there. He taught physical diagnosis to the first class of 16 students at University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1970 and to many classes thereafter. He retired from practice in 1998.

Dr. Higano is survived by his wife of 58 years, Dorothy Taylor Higano; two daughters, Dr. Celestia Higano, her husband Dr. Jack Singer of Seattle and Priscilla Rohrer, her husband Jon of Philadelphia; a son, Dr. Stuart Higano, his wife Karen of St. Louis; seven grandchildren; a sister, Dr. Aiko Higano Kodama of Seattle and her two sons William of Las Vegas and Kenneth of Chicago. His parents, Ura and Hanji Higano and sister Shizuko Miyamoto preceded him in death. A private service was held. The family encourages you to share your memories and comments with them at http://higanomemorial.blogspot.com. Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders (333 Seventh Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001-5004, http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org).

Edited to add: An important footnote to this obituary is the story of Norio's hasty migration from Seattle to St. Louis during WWII. After the Pearl Harbor bombing, Norio's parents and sister—like the 110,000+ Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast, 70,000 of whom were U.S. citizens—were forced out of their home and interned in a concentration camp for the duration of the war.

Shortly before the official evacuation orders came in March 1942, Norio's parents urged him to leave Seattle so that he could continue his studies. He had already been accepted to medical school but had not yet completed his B.A.—fortunately, one of his undergraduate professors told him that his first year of medical school could count as his final year of undergraduate work. And so Norio said goodbye to his family and began a new life in the Midwest.

Norio's parents and sister, Shiz, were incarcerated at Camp Harmony and Minidoka Relocation Center until 1945; Norio's other sister, Aiko, was attending medical school in Japan. Recalling the hectic days before evacuation, Shiz wrote, "It was certainly a relief to see him depart since we were uncertain about our future."


Young Norio

For further reading:

The Higano Family Papers: a collection of letters that Norio and his family exchanged during the war (archived by the University of Washington)

"The Stolen Years": University of Washington Alumni Magazine cover story on Japanese Internment, for which Norio was interviewed.