Suchat Albert Pusavat M.D.

Suchat “Albert” Pusavat was born May 3, 1933 in Thung Song, Thailand. His father’s dream was for future generations to obtain higher education, and Albert worked hard to fulfill that dream. He was an excellent student, attending the prestigious Chung Ling High School in Penang, Malaysia. He also had a passion for sports cars and motorcycles. Albert journeyed to America to pursue his education. He did undergraduate work at Northern Michigan University and UC Berkeley, but was most fond of his time at Pacific Union College. He was an outstanding college athlete, at one point achieving a national player ranking in badminton. He moved to Southern California, where he obtained his medical degree from Loma Linda University. He completed his internship through USC at Los Angeles County General Hospital and his residency through UCLA at Harbor General Hospital. After residency, he worked briefly for Centinela Hospital before joining Kaiser Permanente, where he would work as an Internist and Hematologist for the next fifty years. Albert had a reputation for building warm, personal relationships with everyone he encountered including hospital staff and patients. His commitment to service led him to continue to make house calls for elderly and disabled patients into the 1980s. Albert married Anne Cookston in 1964, and they had three children: Keith, Kevin, and Andrea. He instilled his children with a deep respect for higher education, and was proud to see them become an attorney, a doctor, and a professor/psychologist. He had a lifelong passion for the martial arts. He began studying Muay Thai as a young man in Thailand. He earned a black belt in Tang Soo Do karate in his forties, and he spent many years training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, even into his sixties. He built his own workout studio on an enclosed patio at his home. He enjoyed teaching martial arts there for decades, developing many lifelong friendships with his students, instructors, and workout partners. Albert formally retired in 1997, but returned to work part time performing bone marrow biopsies in the Hematology/Oncology Department at Kaiser Permanente. In 2009, he married Dr. Diana Durham. In his last decade they traveled the world together, enjoying cruises and spending time with friends at the farmer’s market. Albert treasured time in his final years with his beloved grandchildren. Albert passed away on January 10, 2018, from complications relating to pneumonia. He was surrounded by his family at Kaiser Hospital in Harbor City, where he had devoted fifty years of his life to caring for others. Albert is survived by his wife, Diana; his children, Keith, Kevin, and Andi; his stepdaughter, Andrea Abrams; his daughters-in-law, Sue and Melissa; and his four grandchildren, Cara, Emma, Kyle, and Jason. There will be a viewing on Saturday, January 27th from 5:00 to 9:00 PM at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, located at 27501 S. Western Avenue. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 28th at 3:00 PM at Rolling Hills Seventh Day Adventist Church in Rolling Hills Estates, located at 28340 Highridge Road.