Dr. Chao Hung "Raymond" Chan

1934 - 2018

Dr. Chao Hung (Raymond) Chan, 84, of Miramar Beach, Florida, passed away November 22, 2018. He was born in Shanghai, China to the late Chi Chen and Wang Si Ying on August 2, 1934. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Benito and David Chan and wife, Lilia Alfabeto Chan.
He is survived by his children and grandchildren, Deborah Christina Chan, husband, Christopher Clark Ogilvie and children, Ian Ogilvie and Alexandra Ogilvie, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Jacqueline Chan Divino, husband, Caesar Solomon Divino, and children, Katherine Divino, Kristin Divino and Isabella Divino, of Little Rock; and Joyce Bernadette Chan Jenkins, husband, Harry Stephen Jenkins, and children, Sara Jenkins and Daniel Jenkins, of Kempton, Pennsylvania; and his sister, Jenny Lee of Manila, Philippines.
His family moved to Manila, Philippines in 1938 during the Japanese invasion of China. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in WWII, his father was captured as a guerrilla leader and killed by Japanese military in 1944. His father's body was never found. He was then raised by his mother, a physical education and kindergarten teacher, with his siblings in Manila.
He received his Undergraduate Degree in Business Administration from The University of the East (UE) in Manila in 1956. He worked as an accountant while attending medical school and received his Medical Degree in 1962 from UE. He moved to the United States, where he completed a Medical Residency and Fellowship at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., from 1963-1965. He then began what would be a lifelong career as a gastroenterologist, specializing in liver disease, for the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital System.
His career spanned nearly three decades of service at VA hospitals in Washington, D.C. (1965-1978); Louisville, Kentucky (1978-1980); Little Rock, Arkansas (1980-1990), where he also worked for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS); Johnson City, Tennessee (1990-1993), where he also worked for East Tennessee State University; and Indianapolis, Indiana (1993).
He met Lilia Arcenas Alfabeto, a nurse, when he was a medical student. Lilia moved to the United States and worked as a nurse in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. They were married on April 20, 1968 in Niles, Illinois. They settled in Annandale, Virginia, and started a family of three girls.
The majority of his career was spent in Washington, D.C., and Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was Professor and Chief of Hepatology for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, mentoring both Residents and Fellows. Many of these former students went on to become successful physicians, some even treating him during his hospitalizations the last few months.
He retired in December, 1993, to Miramar Beach, Florida, near Destin, which had been a favorite family vacation spot. He and his wife Lilia enjoyed frequent visits from children and grandchildren. They traveled often to the Philippines to visit relatives, as well as to Canada and Australia. He enjoyed most seeing his grandchildren, and looked forward to all their successes, whether in academics, sports, dance, music or art. He particularly looked forward to seeing one of his grandchildren follow in his footsteps as a doctor, with his oldest grandchild planning to attend medical school next year.
The family would like to give special thanks to:
His niece and her husband, MJ Cunanan Upshur and Jack Upshur, of Abercorn, Quebec, Canada; his neighbors Ricardo and Mae Maula of Miramar Beach, Florida; the many doctors and nurses who treated him, especially at CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic, St. Vincent Infirmary and St. Vincent Rehabilitation Hospital; and Chaplain, Father L. Warren Harvey.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Dr. Chan to the American Heart Association.
Link to AHA:
http://www2.heart.org/site/TR/FunRaiser/General?px=11822271&pg=personal&fr_id=3930
Funeral services will be held Monday, December 3rd at 3:30 p.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church in Little Rock, AR.
Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct., Little Rock, AR 72205, (501)224-2200. Dr. Chan's online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.