Society of
General physiologists

Tomuo Hoshiko, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus Case Western Reserve University
(1927-2013) 

Tomuo “Tom” Hoshiko, Ph. D., Past President and long time member of the Society of General Physiology, died on November 9, 2013.

Dr. Hoshiko was born October 5, 1927 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, to the late Tsunehachi and Toshie (nee Kuroda) Hoshiko. Tom’s parents, Japanese immigrants to Canada, had a farm in British Columbia. His father passed away when Tom 4 years old, and his mother continued farming until the government appropriated their home and land during World War II. Tom and his mother were then assigned to work on a sugar beet farm in Alberta. Later he came to the United States of America for college and he became a naturalized US citizen. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Kent State University in 1949 and his Ph. D. from the University of Minnesota in 1953, and was a Research Fellow at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

A Professor Emeritus, Dr. Hishiko was Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. During Sabbatical years he was also Visiting Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and at the Katholieke Universitiet Leuven, Belgium. He had many presentations and research publications in the area of transport across biological membranes.

Tom was President of the Society of General Physiologists from 1982-1983, a member of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, and a long time member of the Society of General Physiologists, Biophysical Society, and American Physiological Society. He was also a member and Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, a network of Christians in science, and was founder of the University Christian Forum at Case Western University.

Tom touched the lives and is remembered by many prominent scientists in his field. Martin Frank, Ph. D., Executive Director of the American Physiological Society, wrote: “Tom was a wonderful individual, a solid scientist, and a great contributor to our discipline. I had many opportunities to interact with Tom over the years and they were always a joy.” Randall H. Travis, M.D., a long time colleague of Tom’s wrote: “Tom was a fine scientist and a good friend who helped me to gain knowledge about what it means to be a scientist. He was one of the first to greet me and welcome me when I joined the Department of Physiology as a postdoc fresh from clinical training. His humor and insight were refreshing and inspiring.” Tom’s former graduate student, Barry Lindley, Ph. D. wrote: “I recall many interesting theological and philosophical discussions with Tom. He was a wonderful friend, a fine scientist, and a brilliant researcher.”

Tom was also an avid photographer and a great camper. He loved canoeing and fishing with his family up in the Canadian hinterland. Long before it became widely popular, Tom was interested in solar power, which he incorporated into a house he built and another that he remodeled.
Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Barbara (Rambo) Hoshiko, daughter Katherine (James) Bentley of Ashland, OH; two sons, Daniel (Ruthanne) Hoshiko of University Heights, OH and James (Kimberly) Hoshiko of Westville, IN; grandchildren, John Bentley, Anna Bentley, Lydia Bentley, Peter Bentley, Kent Hoshiko, Adam Hoshiko, Tim Hoshiko, Jackson Hoshiko, Paul Hoshiko, Nathan Hoshiko, Ben Hoshiko, and Lauren Hoshiko; two sisters, Eileen Hoshiko and Yuri (Hoshiko) Goto and one brother, Michael Hoshiko.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Mary (Hoshiko) Ono.