Friends, family and patients are mourning the death last week of a longtime East Hawaii cardiologist who helped found the 18-year-old Hilo Heart &Stroke Walk.
Dr. Djon Indra Lim, 77, died April 15 at Hilo Medical Center due to liver and kidney failure.
“My father, Dr. Djon Indra Lim, graduated this lifetime last night at 9:50 p.m. HST,” his daughter, Dewi Maile Lim, wrote Thursday on her Facebook page. “He was surrounded by myself, my mom Sherry, brother Justin, two best friends, Jagy (Pattur) and Hatim (Kanaaneh), and Hatim’s dear wife, Didi. … He provided a lifetime of loving care and generosity to his family, friends, patients and the East Hawaii community at large.”
In a Monday phone interview, Dewi Maile Lim said her father, a native of Medan, Indonesia, first spent time in Hawaii in the 1960s during a layover as he traveled by boat to the mainland to attend college on a scholarship. After attending medical school at the University of Rochester in New York, Lim performed his internship and residency in Honolulu before moving with his wife, Sherry, to the Big Island in 1975.
“He knew he wanted to come back to the Big Island. He had chosen Hilo as the place he wanted to practice,” Dewi Lim said. “It was etched in his heart. He knew this was the place for him.”
An avid nature photographer, his daughter said Lim loved shooting the gorgeous scenery in and around Hilo.
“He was able to be captivated by the beauty here,” she said.
Lim also loved badminton and helped the Hilo Badminton Club grow and prosper, serving as a mentor and coach for other players.
But it was Lim’s 40 years of serving the community as a cardiologist that he will best be remembered for in Hilo, Lim’s longtime friend and former roommate Jagy Pattur said.
“He wanted to be a doctor in a small town, because in a big town, everybody has lots of patients, and it becomes very impersonal. He’s not that kind of person,” Pattur said. “He wanted to totally get involved in a community.”
Receptionists in his office at Hilo Medical Center said Tuesday that as one of only three cardiologists on the island, Lim worked a packed schedule, but always treated his patients and employees with love and aloha.
“He was really close to them. He was dedicated to his patients, and he worked long hours for them,” said receptionist Gwen Tanaka.
“He worked right up until Good Friday,” added Mary Lynn Demerly, who worked with Lim for 26 years. “He got sick about two months ago, but he didn’t really want to tell his patients or the other doctors about it. He wanted to deal with it himself.”
Part of Lim’s lasting legacy on the Big Island will be the Hilo Heart &Stroke Walk, which he founded nearly two decades ago, said Ann Oshiro-Kauwe, the regional director of the American Heart Association.
“Dr. Lim was a wonderful, humble man and cardiologist with a generous heart who cared deeply for and dedicated his life work to care for his patients and save lives in our community,” Oshiro-Kauwe wrote in an email. “Through his strong commitment and leadership, Dr. Lim volunteered to bring AHA’s signature fundraising event, the Hilo Heart and Stroke Walk to the Big Island after attending the Oahu Heart Walk in Honolulu, 18 years ago. Dr. Lim encouraged all to participate and walk for their own health and support those affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke.
“Dr. Lim had chaired numerous times and also personally sponsored the Hilo Heart and Stroke Walk every year since its inception to help fund research grants, provide public education resources and support AHA advocacy efforts to move forward our mission to build healthier lives in our community free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
“We are eternally grateful to Dr. Lim and send our deepest condolences to his family. Dr. Lim’s gentle spirit of aloha will live on and we will always fondly remember and honor him.”
Lim’s family will host a celebration of his life May 9 at Dodo Mortuary in Hilo. Visitation will be 3-5 p.m., followed by the celebration at 5 p.m. Casual attire is welcome. The family asks visitors to refrain from sending flowers.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
