Clodualdo Orquiza, MD 1933-2022

by Raymond C. Truex, Jr., M.D.

When I joined the Johnson Reign Clinic and relocated to Reading in 1990, one of the first physicians I met at Reading Hospital was Clod Orquiza. (For the longest time, I thought his name was Claude.)

Clod was very welcoming, and I recall that we discussed the fact that I had visited his homeland, the Philippines, while I was serving in the military. I remember being very appreciative of his kindness and acceptance to the hospital staff.

The second time I saw Clod, several days later, he began the conversation with a joke, which I learned was his signature opening. And for every subsequent encounter, that’s the way things went, without ever hearing a story the second time. It was a habit that he never broke.

I learned from his wife, Karen, at his visitation, that Clod began to tell jokes as a way to understand the American culture when he first came to the United States, as at first he had difficulty understanding American humor.

That is not to say that Clod was not a serious physician. His empathy and surgical skill were evident in the many written memorials to his obituary in the Reading Eagle, attesting to the lives he saved and the souls he touched over his 32 years in practice at Reading Hospital. He served as the Chief of Urology at Reading Hospital from 1985 to 1998.

As mentioned earlier, Clod was a native of the Philippine Islands, born in Cabaio, Nueva Ecija, in 1933. He graduated with his M.D. degree from the University of the Philippines, Manila, in 1957, and left the Philippines to pursue further medical education in the United States.

Clod’s surgical training took him all over the United States, from a Rotating Internship in Kansas City, MO, to a Pathology residency in Washington, DC, and to General Surgery training at Hartford Hospital in CT and at Reading Hospital.

Finally, Clod completed a Urology residency at Albany Medical Center in NY before returning to Reading Hospital in 1969 to enter private practice with Drs. Barry Shultz and Joseph Leone.

His medical training and subsequent career exemplify Clod’s perseverance, resiliency, technical skill, humility, empathy, and dedication to his craft. His humor and self-effacing presence will be sorely missed by the Reading Hospital physicians, hospital staff, and patients of his era.

Dr Orquiza is survived by his wife, Karen Boyer Orquiza, a daughter, Maria, a son, Clodualdo Orquiza III, M.D., and many extended family members.

Contributions can be made in Dr. Orquiza’s memory to the Reading Hospital Foundation, PO Box 16052, Reading, PA 19612. Written condolences for Dr. Orquiza can be sent by email to www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.