Thai
Couple from Oshawa Recognized by Spiritual Leader
Dr. Somchai Jiaravuthisan was born in Chachoengsao, a small town in Thailand some 60 kilometers east of Bangkok. The son of parents who struggled to educate their three children, Somchai was successful in being near the top of his class all the way through school, including his pre-med training at Mahidol University, 1964-1966, and his medical school training at the same university, 1966-1970. Professor Athasit Vejjajiva, now the President, Mahidol University, was the mentor who guided Somchai to specialize in Neurology. Studying Neurology at Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand’s largest and oldest Psychiatric Hospital, Somchai was urged to go to McGill University in Canada to further his neurological studies. After stops at Dalhousie University, The Montreal Neurological Institute, and Saint John General Hospital, St. John, New Brunswick, Dr. Jiaravuthisan, today, is an active staff member in Neurology at the Oshawa General Hospital in Ontario. Somchai's wife, Yupin, next to her husband in this view, was also born in Chachoengsao, Thailand. To get to school each day, she had to travel one hour each way in a paddle boat. Accepted, 1963, to attend the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Yupin obtained her D.D.S., 1971, the same year she married Somchai. When she came to Canada with Somchai, she passed, on her first attempt, the National Dental Examination, 1997, permitting her to work in Canada as a registered dentist. For the past 17 years, Yupin has worked at the Canadian Auto Workers Dental Clinic, Oshawa. In this view, Somchai and Yupin, together, receive a certificate from well-known Pra Rajadhammajetiyajan, Lord Abbot of Wat Dhammamongkol, Bangkok, taken at the Buddhist Temple, Richmond Hill, 1997. In the middle is Bill Dickinson, Honorary Consul General, Thailand. [Photo, courtesy Dr. Somchai and Dr. Yupin Jiaravuthisan]
Celebrating
Wesak
