Page 4 - Fall 2019 Castle MD

Hiroji Noguchi, MD
April 10, 1958–October 4, 2019
Dr. Noguchi was born on April 10, 1958 in Chiba, Japan to the late Hiroshi and Tsuya Takayama Noguchi and came
to the United States at age 20 as an exchange student from Japan to attend Creighton University. He earned both
a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in nuclear physics in three years. Breaking family tradition, he decided
to attend medical school. After earning his medical degree at Creighton, he moved to California where he started
a residency in general surgery and
a clinical and research fellowship in
liver transplantation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He then completed his general surgery residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center and a transplant fellowship
at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. He
also completed a preceptorship at Providence Seattle Medical Center in vascular surgery.
While at Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Noguchi met his wife, Vickie, a transplantation nurse. They married in 1993 and have been together for 26 years.
After nine years in California, and with three young children, the decision to move to Hawai‘i was an easy one for the Noguchi family. Not only was it a great professional opportunity, but Hawai‘i’s multi-ethnic culture was a good fit for the Noguchi’s ‘hapa’ children. The move also allowed Dr. Noguchi to be closer to Japan and his family there.
In 1998, he joined Surgical Associates, Inc. and Dr. Alan Cheung and the medical staff at Adventist Health Castle. While at Castle, he served on the Blood Transfusion Committee from 1999–2014; Department of Surgery Chair from 2013–2014; and Medical Director of Windward Surgery Center from 2009-2014. Following his cancer diagnosis, Dr. Noguchi relocated to Mississippi in 2016 where, following treatment, he was eventually able to
return to surgery leading the North Mississippi Surgery Clinic in June of 2017.
While at Castle, Dr. Noguchi always brightened everyone’s day with his cheerful smile and rascal sense of humor. He passed away on Friday, October 4, 2019 at his residence in Columbus, Mississippi at the age of 61. According to Vickie, a memorial service will be planned in Hawai‘i in the near future.
4 · FALL ‘19