EJI SUYAMA, M.D.

BANGOR and SEBASTOPOL, Calif. – Eji Suyama, M.D., 89, formerly of Ellsworth and Sturgis, S.D., left on his final journey of this Earth Monday, June 8, 2009, at home in Sebastopol, Calif., with loved ones bidding him farewell, best wishes and thanks for the many contributions to family, friends and country. We will all miss him. Eji was born Feb. 4, 1920, in Seattle, and moved west into the Yakima Valley to Wapato, Wash., the son of hard-working Japanese immigrants, Shoichi and Aya Suyama. Eji had a relatively pleasant childhood and enjoyed the normal simple pleasures of youth. At age 12 he helped out his family by working during the Depression era. Later Eji attended the University of Washington, graduated and anticipating the coming war, joined the U.S. Army. Before he left, his parents simply said, “Be careful” … because they loved him. He was an individual in the Nisei, second Japanese American generation, whose triumph over adversity is an inspiration for us all. He served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team comprised entirely of Japanese Americans, distinguished himself in combat in Italy and France, and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action. Along the way he also gained status as an honorary Texan for helping rescue the “Lost Battalion,” a surrounded Texas battalion, in one of the costliest – in terms of percentage of casualties, military encounters in U.S. history. His company unit sustained nearly unbelievable losses by directly and ceaselessly engaging the enemy in close combat for five days until a breakthrough was achieved. Fortunately for his spouse, Virginia Ruth Hobbs Suyama, and future children, he was one who made it through this and the rest of the war and found himself attending the University of Chicago School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree with honors in 1950. After internship and a surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a stop in Syracuse as the assistant chief of surgery and instructor of surgery, he landed a position in 1956 at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth, where he was chief of surgery for many years. During this time, he gained the trust and respect of those he served and his skill in “stitching” people back together was nearly legendary. “I’d let him cut my head off and sew it back on” said one lobsterman, after showing how his reattached thumb could wiggle and flex “good as new.” Meanwhile, Eji and Virginia thought they would fill in their free time by raising six, well-meaning children. His untimely death at 89 was no doubt caused by this unexpectedly rash decision. Regardless, his children did in fact, turn out to be well-meaning, and are forever grateful to him. (Was it mentioned that he was sometimes a patient man?) Dr. Suyama always held a great affection for the “salt of the Earth” and their practical wisdom and good-heartedness, for he also was the salt of the Earth, albeit a bit too-smart-for-his-own-good, and he held a great disdain, contempt, scorn for those who would mistreat another person for their own gain. During his many years of community service in Ellsworth, he sometimes provided medical service once a week, 60 miles away in Machias. After his dedicated service to the hospital and area that he loved, he “retired” in 1994 to Fort Meade, near Sturgis, S.D., where he worked at the veteran’s hospital until his second retirement in 2008. An interviewer once queried, “Wasn’t Fort Meade the final post of Gen. Custer?” to which he replied, “Well, actually, he never made it back.” Dad, Eji, Doctor Suyama, “You So-and-So,” will be sorely missed by those whose lives he touched. Thanks for it all. Not a perfect man by his own admission, but one of conviction, devotion to duty, a champion for the little man and underdog, no tolerance for excuses, an insatiable appetite for knowledge, a lover of music, art and literature, a fantastic cook and a pretty damn good fly-fisherman … as you know. As I know, our father would want to say thank you and make everyone understand how much he appreciates all of you who enriched his life and that he will miss you. In addition to his wife of 56 years, Virginia, Dr. Suyama is survived by three daughters, Amy Suyama of Sebastopol, Calif., Carol Suyama of Maui, Hawaii, and Sara Suyama of Bangor; and three sons, Paul Suyama of Freeport, Jon Suyama of Fairfax, Va., and Peter Suyama of Oakton, Va. Eji and Virginia’s family also includes three granddaughters, Alina, Julie and Crystal; and three grandsons, Jonathan, Ryan and John Paul. Please join the Suyamas for a memorial celebration 3 p.m. Oct. 3 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Ellsworth. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Eji’s name to a charity of your choice: Ellsworth High School College Scholarship Fund, Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Trout Unlimited, Disabled American Veterans’, Doctors Without Borders, Southern Poverty Law Center, Pierre Monteux Memorial Foundation, Audubon Society, World Wildlife Fund or the Sierra Club.