Pictured: A family photo showing Cynthia Timtim Soneda, John Keolalani Timtim and their daughters.
Alumni Newsletter:
On a June day in 2015, ophthalmologist and MD Class of 1985 alumna Cynthia Timtim Soneda was struck and killed by a vehicle while on her morning run in East Honolulu.
Born in Hilo, Cynthia was valedictorian of Kalani High School in 1978 and went on to Stanford University where she graduated at the top of her class in chemical engineering in 1981. She returned home for her medical degree from JABSOM where she again stood out as a star student.
Cynthia’s father, Shinji Soneda, died in 2013 and her mother, Masuko Soneda, passed away in 2017.
Pictured: Masuko and Shinji Soneda.
“When my mom passed, my siblings and I wanted to do something to recognize all three of them,” Cynthia’s brother Alan said.
Shinji Soneda was a World War II veteran who took advantage of the GI Bill to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and, later, Rose Polytechnic Institute (now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Harvard University, earning a Master’s Degree in Engineering. Masuko graduated from UH Mānoa and worked as a library assistant for many years.
Siblings Alan Soneda, Brian Soneda and Janice Saiki have established the Shinji and Masuko Soneda and Dr. Cynthia Timtim Soneda Memorial Endowed Scholarship to assist second, third and fourth year Kama‘aina medical students with financial need who intend to practice medicine in Hawai‘i.
In establishing the scholarship, Alan said, “We were so sad when Cynthia and our parents passed away. We thought preserving their memory through scholarships would honor their lifelong dedication to learning and service to their community.”