As a registered dietitian at Evanston Hospital, Joyce Pang did all the expected duties and provided the extra touches that make patients feel cared for and special.
“Mrs. Pang was unique in many ways, and among the things I remember is her dedication to the patients and her work ethic,” said Dr. Michael Salinger, the hospital’s director of interventional cardiology. “This lady used to stay until 9 or 10 at night to make sure all her patients were cared for.”
Mrs. Pang, 78, of Skokie, a dietitian at the hospital for 25 years primarily with the cardiac care unit, died of ovarian cancer Friday, Jan. 30, at the hospital.
Salinger recalled the times Mrs. Pang would go to special lengths to help her patients, such as the time a heart-transplant patient was having trouble eating.
“She went to the hospital kitchen and hand-made a special milkshake concoction that met his nutritional needs,” Salinger said. “She was old school. Now you can buy special formulas on grocery shelves and go to a computer to find an answer. We didn’t have that back then. She was our computer.
“She also looked out for our interns and residents, making sure food was brought to them when they worked long hours. She was always available, helpful and concerned.”
Born in Canton, China, her family moved to Hong Kong when she was a child. Mrs. Pang later came to the United States to attend Nazareth College in Louisville, where she graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition. After graduation, Mrs. Pang worked at Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
While in school, she became friends with Tet-Kong Pang. They married in 1960, settling in the Chicago area.
She worked for a time at Norwegian American and Oak Park Hospitals before joining Evanston in 1969, where she became known as an advocate for patient education.
“For my mother, an important thing was to sit down with patients and talk as long as needed to educate them on how to eat, what to eat and a sensible diet,” her son, Stephen said.
Her 1994 retirement party provided an example of her generous nature, Salinger said.
“She was an incredible giver,” he said. “We were supposed to come and honor her. She got ceramic figurines and teacups from her home village to give us in recognition of our work. She was that kind of reverse giver. Even in a circumstance where it was her moment to shine, she wanted to mirror that and give it back to us.”
Photography became a hobby while in Hong Kong, where she worked in a studio taking portraits. During college, she set up a dark room in a stairway closet in her dormitory to earn money for her tuition. She later focused on taking portraits of family and friends.
As a Chinese immigrant, Mrs. Pang was not accustomed to having colleagues address her by her first name. Her co-workers referred to her as Mrs. Pang throughout her career as a bow to tradition as well as a way to show respect, her son said.
After retiring, she worked in customer service for 10 years at Nordstrom department store.
Other survivors include her husband; another son, Thomas; a brother, Louis Pang; and five grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, at Haben Funeral Home, 8057 Niles Center Rd., Skokie. Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, at St. Peter Catholic Church, 8100 Niles Center Rd., Skokie.
