Samuel Tai Yung Feehan, CPO, passed away February 20 in Tacoma, Washington, after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 57.
Feehan was born on September 25, 1957, in a rural village near Inchon, South Korea. By age two he had contracted polio, which necessitated his use of walking aids throughout his life. He came to the United States in 1974 after being adopted by Philip and Joann Feehan.
He graduated from the University of Washington in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in O&P, and completed his residency in Los Angeles, after which he worked as an orthotist at Schindler’s Orthotics and Prosthetics, Spokane, Washington. From 1993 through 1997, Feehan worked as a prosthetist/orthotist for Lubbock Orthotics and Prosthetics, Texas. He and his family then returned to the Pacific Northwest where he was employed by Northwest Prosthetics and Orthotics, Seattle, until 2003, when he opened Master’s Orthotics and Prosthetics, Silverdale, Washington, where he worked until he retired in November 2014.
According to an OANDP-L listserv post by his son, Nathanael Feehan, Samuel Feehan is “remembered by his children as an overcoming, hardworking, and diligent father, employer, and professional.” He was an avid gardener, birdwatcher, apiarist, and naturalist who enjoyed the outdoors and would spend hours fishing, hiking, orcharding, and caring for his various poultry.
Feehan is survived by his parents, Philip and Frances Joann Feehan; his wife, Sonya; his children, Nathanael, Benjamin (Jessica), Johanna Austin (Paul), and Elisabeth; two grandchildren, Erin and Oliver Feehan; and his siblings, John Feehan, Megan Leary, Maura Peterson, Daniel Feehan, Thomas Feehan, Bridget Gilbreath, Susan Gafney, Kimiko Feehan-Flores, Jennifer Stottle, and Dennis Feehan. Feehan is preceded in death by his biological mother and son Samuel Dominick.
