Member of California’s Air Resources Board
Dr. Henry Gong, Jr., beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend and physician, passed away at his home in Pacific Palisades on August 17. He was 60 years old and had been suffering from ongoing heart complications. Dr. Gong was a world-renowned physician, researcher and professor widely respected for his work in respiratory and pulmonary medicine. He was a physician at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, where he served as chairman of the Department of Medicine, chief of Environmental Health Services, and medical director of Respiratory Care Services. Dr. Gong was also professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and the appointed physician member of the Air Resources Board for the State of California. A frequent lecturer on the effects of air pollution, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the evaluation of pulmonary patients for air travel, Dr. Gong published more than 250 papers and book chapters related to respiratory diseases and the health effects of air pollution, and acted as a reviewer of over 20 professional journals and research organizations, including the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine, European Respiratory Journal, Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Health Effects Institute. During his distinguished career he earned numerous honors and awards, including the Environmental Achievement Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Carl Moyer Award from the Coalition for Clean Air; Robert M. Zweig, M.D. Memorial Award from the South Coast Air Quality Management District; and the Clean Air Award from the American Lung Association. In addition to serving on the California Air Resources Board, he served on many other advisory boards, including the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; chair of the scientific sessions for the American Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians; and chair of the Institutional Review Board and Continuing Medical Education Committee at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Henry Gong was born on May 23, 1947 in Tulare, California, to Choy and Henry Gong. He was the youngest of four children and the only sibling born in the United States. When he was about six, his family established a grocery business in Dos Palos. Henry was educated in public schools, graduating from Dos Palos High School in 1965, and spent his spare time helping out at the family?s National Market grocery store. Dr. Gong earned his bachelor?s degree from the University of the Pacific and his medical degree from UC Davis. In 1975, he completed his residency training in medicine at Boston University Hospital and began his fellowship in pulmonary medicine at UCLA, where he continued as a full-time faculty member for the next 15 years. He started at Rancho Los Amigos in 1992 and, a year later, joined the Keck School of Medicine. Henry married his wife Jan on June 30, 1968, while they were both undergraduate students at UOP in Stockton. They moved to the Palisades in April 1977 and raised two children, Greg and Jaimee, who were both educated in local public schools. Jan and Henry joined Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church in 1980 and Henry later served six years as an elder. He will be greatly missed by his surviving family, including his wife Jan, son Greg, daughter Jaimee Gong (husband Cyril Megret), granddaughter Lilymiel Megret-Gong, and many nieces and nephews. A viewing will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 24, at Faith Chapel, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, in Palisades Presbyterian Church, with a 3 p.m. gravesite internment to follow at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Breathe California, 5858 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036; or the Palisades Presbyterian Church Mission Fund, 15821 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
