Samuel de Leon Roda

Dr. Samuel de Leon Roda, 89, of Coloma, passed away Friday, December 4, 2020, at the Willows Assisted Living Facility, St. Joseph.

There will be private burial on Wednesday, December 9, at Coloma Cemetery with immediate family members only.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Caring Circle at 4025 Health Park Lane, St. Joseph, MI  49085.

Sam was a long-standing physician for almost 50 years and was dearly loved by his patients to whom he dedicated his heart and soul.  His consistent willingness to go above and beyond his responsibilities earned him high respect from his hospital colleagues and peers.

In 1966, Sam received his Doctorate of Medicine at Southwestern University in the Philippines and subsequently worked as a resident at Miller Hospital, Southern Islands Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Cebu City General Hospital in Cebu City, Philippines.  After moving to the United States and becoming a US Citizen in 1970, he applied his medical skills as a physician’s assistant for three years at the Industrial Clinic in Chicago, IL and passed the ECFMG examinations in late 1973.  After working at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital as a rotating intern and medical house officer from 1974 – 1976, Sam then did his residency training in Family Practice from 1976 – 1979 at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago, IL.  He passed the Federal Licensing Examinations (FLEX) during his senior year in Family Practice.  From 1980 – 1984, Sam had a solo practice in Melrose Park, IL.  Sam then moved to Coloma, MI in 1984 where he had a solo practice in Family Medicine at Coloma Medical Clinic up until 1997. He joined the Community Hospital in Watervliet, MI at their Coloma Clinic. He was the Chief of Medical Staff from 1991 – 1993 and again in 2001 – 2003. Sam was a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Hospital Foundation at Community Hospital, as well as a member of the Board of Directors at Southwest Michigan PHO. He remained at Community Hospital until 2014 when he retired after a long illustrious career in the medical profession.

In addition to practicing medicine, Sam dedicated his personal time to several philanthropic medical missions in which he traveled to remote areas of the Philippines where he treated poor, sick and under-privileged communities severely lacking access to medical care.  The plight of the less fortunate was always on Sam’s mind, as he would often recall seeing while growing up in the Philippines, and as a medical doctor now, he wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.

Sam is preceded in death by his parents:  Antonino and Mercedes Roda and brother Johnny Roda.

He is survived by his wife Donna Roda; children:  Anabel Roda (Michael Cielenski), Daphne (Greg) Esposito, and stepson Bradley (Sarah) Parrigin; grandchildren: Samuel and Naomi Parrigin; siblings: Leon (Gladys) Roda II, Letty (Maxima) Monterde, Rodel (Karl) Meier, Pedro (Evelyn) Roda, and Charity Roda Lim; sister-in-law Charito Roda.

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