NAPA - Dr. Richard Henry Bien was born in Cracow, Poland, on Nov. 2, 1948, to Carole Keila Bien and Joseph Samuel Bien, survivors of the Holocaust.

The family immigrated to the United States in 1958 in search of religious and political freedom, taking root in Forest Hills, N.Y. Richard graduated from Stonybrook University in the early 1970s full of questions, and, with several of his friends, he embarked on a spiritual journey to the East. Their travels led them to Goa, India, at a time when Richard was hampered by a dislocated shoulder and could not enjoy his surroundings. He made the decision to leave his friends, and, on his own, traveled north to Ganeshpuri where he joined the ashram of guru Baba Muktananda and deeply explored the Hindu faith.

Fatefully, Richard took ill in India and was brought to Europe to convalesce. He was hospitalized in Amsterdam where his brother-in-law, Kees, was just earning his medical degree. The memories from India and the six-week care he received in the academic hospital were enough to melt away Richard’s aversion to blood and spark his passion for medicine. From that moment, it was a short while before Richard was graduating from Rush Medical School in Chicago as a vascular surgeon. With a residency at Mt. Zion in San Francisco, a fellowshi p in Long Beach, and a six-year practice in Fort Bragg to follow, opportunity brought Richard to Napa with his wife, Gail, and young son Alexei. For more than 20 years, Dr. Bien offered his care and compassion to patients in this community. His devotion and skill provided the highest level of surgical care to the Napa Valley.

Richard gave charitably all throughout his life and practiced these virtues more so than any others: curiosity, compassion, inquisitiveness, integrity, healing and a desire to bring people together. In his honor, the Richard Bien Education Fund will be established by his family and administered by congregation Shir Shalom in Sonoma. The fund will invite speakers and guests of all faiths to converse on matters of timely and timeless importance. In the way that Richard was able to integrate his exploration of Hinduism with his search for spirituality in Judaism, the fund will stress integration and inclusivity.

In March 2007, Richard was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For two and a half years he fought valiantly, combating his disease with standard chemotherapy, clinical trials and holistic medicine. He was buttressed by the support of his family and a great circle of friends, with special appreciation to his closest friend, Wendy Fields. All the while, Richard managed to bring together the brightest physicians on his behalf in the way that medicine only imagines.

Richard passed away peacefully on July 22, 2009, in the very home in which, during his illness, he designed, had built and enjoyed unendingly. He was surrounded, as from day one of his diagnosis, with the people he loved and who will continue to love him. He is survived by the immediate family of his son, Alexei; his wife, Gail; his sister, Ania; niece, Eden; and brother-in-law, Kees, as well as relatives and friends worldwide. Richard will be sorely missed by all who he touched.

Visitation is today, July 24, at 9 a.m., at Treadway & Wigger Funeral Chapel, in Napa. The burial will be held at Mt. Tamalpais Cemetery, in San Rafael, at 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., there will be a celebration of life at the home of Dr. Richard and Gail Bien.