Seattle, WA - Dr. Richard J. Kitaeff, 81, died in Seattle on the last day of Hannukah. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He will be missed by his wife of more than 60 years, Anne Kitaeff; children Pema Kitaeff and Lila Lakehart and their spouse Ali Lakehart; grandchild Micah; and his large and loving community.

Dr. Kitaeff was the first Westerner to graduate from Meiji College of Oriental Medicine in Osaka, Japan. He was in the first graduating class of Bastyr University, and was one of the first licensed acupuncturists in the state of Washington. He traveled the world in the 60s and 70s & beyond, and was a voracious music collector and a jazz pianist.