Susan Hou, MD
July 29, 1946 - July 27, 2019
HOU, Susan (Hamant) Physician and Humanitarian Age 72, passed away surrounded by her family on July 27, 2019. Susan was a cherished wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, doctor, friend, colleague, mentor, and humanitarian who embraced life with a passion that continues to inspire us all. Her sense of adventure, witty humor, brilliant mind, compassion for others, and determination have had a rich and diverse impact on the world.
Susan was born on July 29, 1946, in Boston, Massachusetts to Daniels and Muriel Hamant. She attended Harvard University (BA), Stanford University (MA) and University of Massachusetts Medical School (MD). She trained as a nephrologist at Tufts-New England Medical Center and became a world-renowned expert in kidney disease and pregnancy. She and her husband, Mark Molitch, moved to Chicago in 1984 where Susan worked as a nephrologist at Michael Reese Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, and Loyola University Medical Center. She and Mark built a life with their three children in River Forest, IL.
Susan was an avid world traveler and spoke English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese. In 1986, she and others wrote an article that was seminal in developing the concept of altruistic, unrelated living donor organ transplantation. Susan experienced organ transplantation from all angles, as a transplant nephrologist, donor of her own kidney to one of her patients, and recipient of lung and kidney transplants.
She was a humanitarian and philanthropist, establishing the Daniels Hamant Foundation to help patients who needed unaffordable medications. With Douglas Villarroel and her husband, Mark, she built Centro Medico Humberto Parra in 2001 which has provided thousands of Bolivians with medical care. She was instrumental in the first liver transplant in Bolivia.
Her parents, her sister Anne and her brother Daniels preceded her in death. She is survived by Mark Molitch; her three children and their spouses Tamara and Brian, Ethan and Bati, Michael and Danielle; her seven grandchildren Maya, Evan, Isaac, Olivia, Asha, Niko, and Felix; and her two cats Gandalf and Gabriel. We are honored to have had her in our lives.
View obituary »
