Efren Domingo Baria

June 18, 1935 – April 29, 2026

Efren D. Baria, M.D.—devoted husband, father, grandfather, anesthesiologist, and humanitarian—passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on April 29, 2026. He was 90 years old.

Born on June 18, 1935, in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, Efren came of age with boundless energy and an early determination to build a meaningful life. As a youth, he loved working his family's farmland as much as he loved dancing—and family lore recalls him wading across rivers with his shoes and trousers balanced atop his head to get to the town dancehall. That same joyful determination carried him to the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (Class of 1962), through rigorous training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and ultimately to Hawai‘i, the islands he chose as his permanent home.

Dr. Baria dedicated his career to the health and safety of the people of Hawaiʻi, practicing at every major medical center across Oʻahu and Molokaʻi and serving with distinction as Chief of Anesthesiology at Hawaii Medical Center West. He was a longtime member and former Treasurer of the Philippine Medical Association of Hawai’i, and a devoted volunteer with the Aloha Medical Mission, with whom he made repeated trips to the Philippines to provide free, critical care to patients in need.

Beyond the hospital, he was an enthusiastic tennis and ping pong player. And at his home in Nuʻuanu, he cultivated a sprawling backyard sanctuary of jackfruit, mango, lanzones, chico, mabolo, and more, always eager to share the harvest with friends and neighbors. He and his beloved wife, Fe, filled their home with the rhythms of Latin and ballroom dancing, and their shelves with books on history, geography, and politics.

He is survived by his wife, Fe Plamenco Baria, M.D.; his daughters, Carla Mae (Baria) Kaili and Naomi Lani Plamenco Baria (Joe Di Condina); his son, Efren Plamenco Baria Jr., D.O. (Heather); six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

We gather today on what would have been his 91st birthday—a perfect day to celebrate a man who approached every year of his long life with gratitude and vitality. We remember him not only as a brilliant physician, but as a devoted husband, a loving father, a doting grandfather and great-grandfather, and a true and generous friend. His warmth, laughter, irreverent fashion sense, and dance moves will live in our hearts forever.