Hee Shik Ganocy

Hee Shik passed away peacefully in Calabasas, California, after a heroic battle with cancer, 30 years after the passing of her twin sister, Mee Shik, to cancer.

Hee Shik was born in Paris, France to Soong Soo Lee and Sook Hyung Lee, where her father served as a diplomat for South Korea.

She grew up in Seoul, S. Korea, New York City, and eventually in Houston, Texas where she attended St. Agnes Academy. She earned her B.S. in Biology at Tulane University. She received her DDS from Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, and finished her Orthodontics Residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY.

She met the love of her life, Kent Ganocy, when they were taking a class for dental and medical students at Columbia Medical School. She had just returned from a summer trip where she was wearing sunglasses and according to Kent, “looked like a raccoon.” He tried to ask her out but she friendzoned him again and again, and they began as study buddies. Finally, after endless study dates, he eventually convinced her! She knew he was the one when she was stressed about moving out of her broken-into apartment, and he showed up with a UHaul. After earning their dental and medical degrees, HeeShik brought Kent home to Houston where he began a residency at Baylor College of Medicine and she worked in private dental practice.

Excited to start their new lives together, he proposed to her aboard a cruise with merely a shoelace from his rollerblades. They were married in Houston, Texas in 1992 (with a real ring).

At the end of Kent’s residency, he was awarded a fellowship in Spinal Orthopedics Surgery at Cornell Weill Medical School and they moved back to New York City, where Hee Shik finished her residency in Orthodontics. Their move to Los Angeles was soon to follow, beginning their young careers and their young family.

In Los Angeles, Hee Shik and Kent made a beautiful family with three daughters, Alexa Gisella “Ella”, Sophia Isabella “Bella”, and Ariana Soleil “Valentina”, who were the loves of their lives and center of their focus and adoration. Having her children later in life after many trials and tribulations, Hee Shik considered herself not a traditional Korean “tiger” mom but a “dragon” mom. She protected her daughters and helped to guide them to their successes. Kent and Hee Shik loved creating their new home and life with their hard earned children. They spent many hours as sports parents and traveled the country to give them access to the best camps, games, recitals, and tournaments. Heeshik’s hard work paid off and her eldest daughters got accepted into Stanford University. Valentina continued to succeed in hockey, soccer, and school at Harvard-Westlake under Heeshik’s careful guidance.

Hee Shik loved the beach more than anywhere else and would commonly refer to herself as a “mermaid.” The girls had a goal they would buy her an island so she could spend the rest of her life by the beach. Hee Shik loved taking her family on holidays to memorable places around the world including Italy, France, Hawaii, and Mexico. She loved spending her time on the sand, doing her yoga and meditation classes, and had a special place in her heart for puffy cheetos and IHop’s chicken fried steak. She loved glitter and bling and would bedazzle all of her items, from hats to t-shirts to leggings. She made incredible dishes, some of the girls favorites being udon noodles, duk rice cakes, bibimbap and her special grilled cheeses. She loved watching movies with her daughters, but could never stay awake for the whole length of a movie.

HeeShik was a force to be reckoned with when she got an idea in her head. She was motivated, smart, determined, stubborn, kind, and loving and she bravely fought with all she had to the end, optimistic that she could be that one who might kick cancer.

She gave the best hugs.

Hee Shik was predeceased by her husband Dr. Kent Ganocy, her twin Mee Shik Lee, father Soong Soo Lee, mother-in-law Naomi Ganocy. She is survived by her 3 daughters; mother Sook H. Lee; brother Kyung S. Lee (Barbi O’banion); sister In Shik Lee (Stephen Merwin); nephews & nieces Alex and Ashley Lee, Miles, Emile, and Marcel Merwin; and her father-in-law Mr Terry Ganocy.

A celebration of life will be held at Malibu Pacific Church on May 19, 2024, 3-5pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to https://www.pfccap.org/. This organization’s head, Dr. Sardi, gave Hee Shik the hope to be a survivor.

There will be a Celebration of Life Memorial on Sunday, May 19th, 2024.

From 3:00PM - 5:00PM

Service will be at:

Malibu Pacific Church

3324 Malibu Canyon Rd.

Malibu, CA 90265