"Well done, good and faithful servant." Matthew 25:21

Dr. Hermogenes B. Purugganan passed away February 12, 2014 at the age of 77 in Somerville, New Jersey. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, a well-respected pediatrician and leader in Philippine pediatrics, and a mentor and teacher to countless young doctors in the country.

Dr. Purugganan was born at the Mary Chiles Hospital in Manila on June 9, 1936. He spent his early years and the war years in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya until the family migrated to Tuguegarao, Cagayan after World War II. There, Hermogenes finished grade school and high school at the Ateneo de Tuguegarao. He graduated Valedictorian from the University of Santo Tomas College Of Medicine in 1959 and the next year, he married his college sweetheart Amelita Hernando. He pursued postgraduate training in the United States, graduating from Pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky and fellowship in Pediatric Hematology at St. Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After 5 years in the US, Hermogenes decided to bring his growing family back to the Philippines to fulfill his dream of giving back to his beloved country as a physician and teacher.

Dr. Purugganan was a well respected pediatrician and pediatric hematologist whose career spanned more than 4 decades. Juggling a full-time clinical practice and a busy academic position as part of the faculty of UST, Hermogenes made his mark as an excellent physician and teacher. He became Chairman and Professor of Pediatrics at UST, Director of the Lungsod ng Kabataan (Philippine Children's Medical Center) and Lourdes Hospital and was President of the Philippine Pediatric Society from 1990-92 and Philippine Society of Hematology from 1991-93. He was awarded by the Philippine Pediatric Society as the Pediatrician of The Year in 2000.

Hermogenes was a devout family man, nurturing a brood of 7 children with his wife Amelita. A deeply religious man especially in his latter years, he lived his life simply and prayerfully. He was considered by many a young Filipino doctor as an inspiring mentor. His patients and their families knew him as a kind, caring and astute doctor. He considered the practice and teaching of medicine as his vocation.

Hermogenes retired from the academe in 2001, from hospital administration in 2006 and abruptly stopped medical practice in 2007 following a mild stroke. Over the last seven years, he lived a quiet life in the US with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Towards the twilight of his life, Hermogenes wrote in his memoirs, "My life as a physician, teacher, husband, and father is slowly fading away. I console myself whenever I recall the Hippocratic Oath I took 50 years ago:

'If you fulfill this oath, may you enjoy life respected by all men for all times.' "

Dr. Purugganan is survived by his wife Amelita, his children and their spouses Maria Carmina and Ricky, Dan and Victoria, Oscar, Neil and Anna, Patricia Anna and Norman, Marie Eileen and Joel, Melanie and Nathaniel, ten grandchildren Andrew, Brian, Steven, Claudia, Jeffrey, Ian, Karen, Therese, James, and Milo, his sister Julie, nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday February 18 at 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm. at the Countryside Funeral Home, 724 Route 202 North, Three Bridges, NJ 08887. Funeral service/ eulogy is scheduled at 7:30 pm.

Funeral services will begin at the funeral home on Wed Feb 19 at 9:30 -10:15 am, followed by an 11 am Funeral Liturgy at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church 105 Summer Road, Three Bridges, NJ 08887. Services will end at the church; cremation services will be held privately.

Memorial contributions can be made to Global Giving/ Philippine Business for Social Progress (for Typhoon Haiyan Rehabilitation) as a "gift in honor of" Dr. Hermogenes Purugganan. See link below.

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/adopt-10000-filipino-farmer-fisher-families-philippines/

The "gift in honor of" button is located at the right hand corner of the page. A card will be sent via email to the family. Correspondences with family can be made through inmemorygenep@gmail.com. The Global Giving Foundation is a US 501(c)3 registered non-profit. As a 501(c)3 charity, donations are tax-deductible. Federal tax ID # is 30-0108263.