Bjorn Lih was born in Fjaere, near Grimstad, Norway, on January 10, 1912. At the age of sixteen he moved with his parents and ten siblings to Brooklyn, New York. There he worked full-time at the Norwegian Consulate while attending night school at Columbia University. He received a scholarship to Yale Medical School in 1938. At the medical school commons room, he met Mary Goodson, a medical social worker, and informed his friends that night that he had just met the girl he was going to marry – which he did, in 1942.

After completing his medical training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Bjorn accepted a position in Richland and moved in 1946 with his wife Mary and daughter Nora to the town where he would live for the rest of his life.  His sons Lars and Christopher CB were born in Richland a few years later.  Bjorn worked as a general surgeon with a special interest in cancer cases.  More than one generation of Richland residents will remember his expert and warm care for them.  Bjorn helped in the creation of the Richland Medical Clinic in the later 1950s.  Even after his “retirement” Bjorn worked full-time to establish 24-hour emergency care in each of the Tri-Cities.  In 1978 he spent three months in Kenya working as a volunteer surgeon.

Bjorn became a member of All Saints Episcopal Church soon after his arrival in Richland and sang in the church choir; he was also a member of many years standing in the Columbia Chorale.  In fact, love of music pervaded his life and his children grew up in an atmosphere of piano lessons, records and singing.

In 1959 his brother Arthur Lih, with the help of an assistant from Norway, built the beautiful home overlooking the Columbia River where Bjorn lived with his family until the end of his life.  Bjorn and Mary created a loving home for their children, Nora, Lars, and CB, and later for CB’s wife Marita Plachta, Lars’s wife Julie Cumming, and their grandchildren Alexander, Fred Bjorn, Mary Elizabeth Emmie, Vijay, Emelyn and Ariadne.  The Lih family also grew to include Ela Frank, who first met the Lihs when she arrived from Kenya to go to Washington State University, and later her husband Kim Esterberg and their children Asha and Aanand.

Bjorn had a restless and adventurous nature that often expressed itself in participation in various business ventures which included a wide range of productive activities, such as a farm, a frozen-food plant, defibrillating devices and many others.  He was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Richland.

For a while, all the Lih children moved away from Richland, but in 2000 Bjorn’s son CB and his family moved back to Richland and lived with Bjorn and Mary in the family home which remained the center for Lih family gatherings.  This allowed all Bjorn’s grandchildren to know and love their grandfather, whose outstanding ability as a story-teller enabled them to picture his long and remarkable life.  Bjorn Lih was very proud to be a Norwegian and very proud to be an American.

Bjorn Lih died at home after a short illness in the early morning of April 24, 2005.  He is survived by his wife Mary and their children and grandchildren.  He leaves a legacy of professional excellence, community service, and family affection.  A memorial service will be held Thursday April 28 at 11:00 a.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Richland.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to All Saints Church,  Hospice of the Tri-Cities Chaplaincy, or Rotary Scholarships.