Dudley S.J. Seto, MD's Obituary
Dudley S.J. Seto, MD
Dudley S. J. Seto, MD, who brought hemodialysis to Hawaiʻi and was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully at his home in Honolulu on Monday, June 24, 2024. He was surrounded by his family and caregivers.
Dudley, 91, was born in Honolulu and educated at ʻIolani School when it was in Nuʻuanu. Dudley and three of his five brothers followed tradition and like their father and uncles attended the University of Michigan. He also received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. Early in Dudley’s residency at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Satoru Nakamoto (who became his lifelong best friend) convinced him to take a fellowship with Dr. Willem Kolff, the inventor of the artificial kidney. Dudley returned to Hawaiʻi in 1963, the first trained nephrologist in the islands and introduced the artificial kidney and hemodialysis. He started the Renal Dialysis Center at St. Francis Hospital in 1965. He also practiced as an internist and was a family doctor who made house calls.
His practice was interrupted by being drafted into the Army in 1968. He served as Assistant Chief in Tripler Army Medical Center’s Department of Hospital Clinics and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his honorable discharge in 1970, he rebuilt his private practice and was hired at Kuakini Medical Center as Medical Director of the Kuakini Kidney Disease Center. This helped establish hemodialysis as a standard treatment for Hawaiʻi patients with end-stage renal disease. In 1973, Medicare allowed reimbursement for hemodialysis.
Dudley’s practice expanded over the years, and he created a new business, Intercontinental Medical Services in 1983. He and his team eventually built relationships with nephrologists and hemodialysis centers in Asia and Europe with his goal to enable dialysis patients to travel. One Intercontinental subsidiary, the Aloha Dialysis Centers, welcomed dialysis patients from Japan and Europe.
Dudley once wrote about Carol, the love of his life: “My success is in great part due to her support of me, and her ability to create a stable family environment for me to live in. I really look forward to coming home!” They met at a high school dance when Carol was a sophomore at University High School and Dudley was a junior at ʻIolani. They married after college in 1956, and Carol then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Dudley began medical school.
Carol and Dudley returned to Hawaiʻi with two children in 1963 and together started his private practice. He wrote that his father “taught me to especially enjoy my patients as individuals and to really know them as friends.” He liked talking to patients and often learned tips about growing fruit trees, fishing techniques, and secret fishing spots. He spent his free Sundays taking his children fishing and swimming. His favorite trips for fishing were all over Hawaiʻi, the U.S., and Micronesia.
Dudley’s other interests included golfing, hunting, unsinkable boats, classic cars, and cooking what he caught. He planted many trees and was proud of his white Pirie mangoes. He and Carol had a full life raising their children and later playing golf in Hawaiʻi and abroad, travelling to Europe and Asia to establish relationships with hemodialysis centers. Dudley served his communities by being on the boards of Kuakini Medical Center, ʻIolani School, and by providing scholarships and grants to improve human health and welfare. To all who knew him well, he was loyal and generous, a gifted and tireless physician who enjoyed simple pleasures like fishing at the beach.
Dudley was preceded in death by his beloved Carol W. S. Seto, his parents Dr. and Mrs. Yuen Sang Seto, and his brothers Dr. Millard Seto and Hugo Seto.
He is survived by his children Cynthia (Jay) Hartwell, Keith (Debbie) Seto, Cheryl Seto, and Catherine (Reid) Silva; his brothers Chauncey Seto, Dr. Dexter (Marjorie) Seto, Dr. Anthony Seto; his grandchildren Chloe Hartwell, Thomas Hartwell, Hannah Silva, Sarah Seto, Stephanie Seto, Matthew Seto; his sister-in-law Phyllis Seto (widow of Hugo), nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be held 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, July 22, 2024, at Diamond Head Mortuary Chapel, 535 18th Avenue in Honolulu. Service begins at 5 p.m.
Family respectfully suggests in lieu of flowers or monetary offerings, donations may be made to the following organizations. Kindly note “in memory of Dr. Dudley Seto.”
ʻIolani School KAʻI Programs: make a gift online at https://www.iolani.org/give/make-a-gift or via mail c/o ʻIolani School Advancement Office 563 Kamoku Street, Honolulu, HI 96826.
or
Project Dana: make a gift online at https://www.projectdana.org/donate or via mail c/o Project Dana, 902 University Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96826.
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