Thai Hong Pham

With great sadness, we inform the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr. Thai Pham. Dr. Pham passed away peacefully at home December 13, 2024, under home hospice care surrounded by family and friends after a nearly four-year battle with metastatic lung cancer.

Dr. Pham was born in Chau Doc, Vietnam and escaped the horrors of the communist regime by immigrating to the US at the age of 5. He escaped by foot to Cambodia with his 17-year-old uncle then grew up in Southern California. Most people with this background would succumb to the circumstances of poor living conditions and a new country with a different culture. Dr. Pham overcame obstacles most would consider insurmountable.

He obtained an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Arizona and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1997. He remained in Tucson for his medical education and later went to Penn State Hershey Medical Center for surgical residency. After his fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Oregon Health & Science University, he joined the VA North Texas Health Care System in 2010. At the VA, he was a phenomenal surgeon, teacher, administrator, colleague, and friend. He has been the section chief of general surgery since 2015. He was advanced to a well-deserved promotion to professor by the University of Texas Southwestern in 2023.

At the VA, Dr. Pham single-handedly developed a robust esophageal cancer program to care for our veterans. He was a clinician, a researcher, and a teacher. Every resident that worked with him wished to emulate his practice. As an administrator, he was an excellent chief to all. He placed a great deal of emphasis in ensuring that the faculty had sufficient time for academic endeavors as well as time outside of the hospital to spend with family and loved ones.

Outside of work, Dr. Pham enjoyed spending time with his family. During lunch, he conveyed countless stories about his son’s many achievements in swimming and wrestling. He was so proud of his daughter’s vast accomplishments in equestrianism.

Dr. Pham is survived by his wife of 25 years, Eileen Ryan, and his two children, Ryan and Lilian Pham, as well as his mother Duyen Dao, father Hien Pham and two siblings. Dr. Pham was more than a colleague and friend, but a brother.

May his memory live forever in all the great accomplishments he had over the years and the myriad of friendships and good deeds throughout his life. The legacy of a titan in surgery, excellent teacher, great colleague, and amazing friend will stay forever in the lives of all those he touched.

Rest in peace, my friend. Your precious life will be celebrated by all. We will never cease to love and admire you.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Thai Hong Pham, please visit our floral store.