:Richard Mamiya

Mamiya was born on March 8, 1925, in Kalihi, Honolulu, Hawaii to Tsurumatsu and Margaret Mamiya.{{Cite web |title=DR. RICHARD T. MAMIYA Obituary {{!}} Honolulu Star-Advertiser |url=https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/15/dr-richard-t-mamiya/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=obits.staradvertiser.com}} He was a third-generation Japanese American.{{Citation|title=Richard Mamiya|date=May 11, 2007|url=http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/profiles/74/|work=Discover Nikkei|language=en|access-date=2019-09-17}} He attended Saint Louis School on scholarship, where he played on the football, baseball, and basketball teams. He then earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he played as a quarterback.{{Cite book|title=Hawaii's AJA pioneers : one hundred profiles commemorating the centennial of the Hawaii Hochi|last=Chinen|first=Karleen C.|publisher=Hawaii Hochi Ltd.|year=2012|location=Honolulu, Hawaii|pages=156–157}} He had a reputation as a skilled athlete,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6xiDwAAQBAJ&dq=richard+mamiya&pg=PA72|title=Asians and Pacific Islanders in American Football: Historical and Contemporary Experiences|last=Franks|first=Joel S.|date=2018-05-04|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9781498560986|language=en}} and was later inducted into the UH Sports Hall of Honor.{{Cite web|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/07/29/news/story10.html|title=Legacy of retired Queen's surgeon lives on in the hearts of patients|last=Altonn|first=Helen|date=July 29, 2004|website=archives.starbulletin.com|access-date=2019-09-17}} Mamiya also became student body president, and maintained high grades.{{Cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/11/sp/FP606110345.html|title=Mamiya has the heart of a champion|last=Nakama|first=Wes|date=June 11, 2006|website=the.honoluluadvertiser.com|access-date=2019-09-17}}

Mamiya's zoology professors encouraged him to go to medical school when he graduated in 1950. He studied medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine, and specialized in heart surgery. After graduation, he worked for a short time at the St. Louis University,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xtEIeqY8dn8C&dq=richard+mamiya&pg=PA140|title=The Evolution of Cardiac Surgery|last=Shumacker|first=Harris B.|date=1992|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253352217|language=en}} then returned to Hawaii.

Mamiya opened his practice in 1961. In 1965, he helped to establish the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Mamiya performed the first coronary bypass in Hawaii at Queen's Hospital in 1970. During his career he reduced the amount of time the surgery took from four hours to two while maintaining a mortality rate of less than 1%. He performed more than 30,000 surgeries throughout his career.

File:Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center (2854286932).jpg

Mamiya retired in 1995 and became a philanthropist. Several buildings in Hawaii bear his name, including a theater at Saint Louis School, the science center at the Bishop Museum, and the science center at Punahou School.{{Cite web|url=https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/15/dr-richard-t-mamiya/|title=DR. RICHARD T. MAMIYA {{!}} Honolulu Hawaii Obituaries – Hawaii Newspaper Obituaries|website=obits.staradvertiser.com|access-date=2019-09-17}}

Mamiya died on August 27, 2019, at the age of 94.

Mamiya married Hazel M. Ikenaga in 1950,{{Cite web |title=DR. RICHARD T. MAMIYA Obituary {{!}} Honolulu Star-Advertiser |url=https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/15/dr-richard-t-mamiya/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=obits.staradvertiser.com}} who died on May 23, 1996.

Mamiya's desire to give back to the community that supported him throughout his childhood and early adulthood resulted in donations to the following:

• Mamiya Science Center at Punahou School
• The Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center at the Bishop Museum
• Richard T. Mamiya Medical Heritage Center at Queens Medical Center
• The Japanese Cultural Center
• Palama Settlement
• Holy Trinity Church
• The University of Hawaii
• The Honolulu Museum of Art
• Blood Bank of Hawaii
• The American Heart Association

Through the Richard T. Mamiya Charitable Foundation which he founded, many others have benefited from his charitable contributions.{{Cite web |title=DR. RICHARD T. MAMIYA Obituary {{!}} Honolulu Star-Advertiser |url=https://obits.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/15/dr-richard-t-mamiya/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=obits.staradvertiser.com}}

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Category:1925 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:People from Honolulu

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Category:Saint Louis School alumni

Category:University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni

Category:Saint Louis University alumni

Category:American surgeons

Category:American physicians of Japanese descent