Dr. Udd’hava Om passed away on Dec. 9, 2014 unexpectedly at his home in the hills of Monte Nido.
Dr. Om was born Johannes Steenkamp on May 6, 1941 in the Republic of South Africa. A student of the healing arts as a young man, he went on to study and complete training in homeopathy. He continued to immerse himself in herbology, energetic healing forms and the healing traditions of China and Korea.
Upon moving to the U.S. in 1968, Johannes attended the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating in 1972. After serving an internship in Denver, Colo., he was in general/family practice in Holbrook, Ariz., for two and a half years before entering the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon in 1976. He completed an aerospace medicine residency and earned his master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston in 1978.
Once his military service was done, he worked as an emergency room physician in Apple Valley, Calif. and in Houston, Texas, before accepting a position as professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas, where he remained as a tenured faculty member and clinician for 10 years. During this time, he continued studies in Oriental and specialized osteopathic medical fields, before relocating to Malibu in 1990.
In 1992, Johannes chose to honor an old teacher’s wish that he claim his spiritual name of Udd’hava Om. Dr. Om practiced the last 24 years at his offices in Malibu.
Dr. Om integrated an array of healing disciplines. Adding to his foundation of osteopathy, Dr. Om practiced Korean hand acupuncture, homeopathy, Chinese herbal medicine, cranial osteopathy, Chi Kung, Feng Shui and his form of intuitive insight.
Dr. Om lost his wife of 35 years, Terri, to cancer in 2007. He is survived by his son, Johannes; his daughters, Tanya and Erin; and Tanya’s children, Logan and Devon.
A memorial service will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8 in Malibu. Contact Erin at elm918@gmail.com or Stevie at wynne0203@aol.com for more information.