April Cockcroft, who grew up in Seaside, is a general surgeon at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.

April Cockcroft was destined for the operating room.

Growing up as the daughter of late Providence Seaside Hospital Dr. Ben Cockcroft, she was often around her father’s clinic. His love for helping patients is what made her want to follow in his footsteps.

“I was always asked from a young age if I wanted to be a doctor like my dad, and I would always answer ‘yes,’ since I admired him,” she said of her father, who died in a snowboarding accident in 2021.

Cockcroft did reconsider her career choice while at Seaside High School. She initially applied to the University of California, Los Angeles as a chemical engineer, but one pivotal moment with her mentor — the late Dr. Bob Wayne — made her realize her path was medicine.

“I always enjoyed helping people and after watching Dr. Wayne in the operating room, I realized I wouldn’t make as much of an impact in chemical engineering sitting behind a desk all day,” she said.

After completing her medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences in Lebanon and her residency, Cockcroft will practice in the county where she grew up.

Cockcroft is a new general surgeon at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. She said having the opportunity to give back to the community, honor her father’s legacy and provide care for patients drew her home.

“It’s been my dream since going away in high school to return home,” she said. “I know that it’s hard for patients to feel safe with doctors in this area because there’s so much turnover. I told them I’m here to stay as me and my husband, William, are looking forward to starting our lives here.”

Cockcroft and her husband met while she was doing her residency at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. He was a flight instructor and they went flying on their first date. He now works as a pilot for Horizon Air.

In addition to showing Cockcroft the ropes as a doctor, her father taught her how to surf at age 7. She looks forward to reconnecting with the coastal surfing community.

Her brother, Travis, works as a nurse at Columbia Memorial in the emergency room and his wife, Janet, recently started as a medical assistant.

Cockcroft said her family is deeply grateful for the community’s support following her father’s death. “My goal is to honor his legacy by working closely with our primary care providers to enhance community health,” she said.

“I also want to serve as a mentor for our local youth and inspire them from a young age that they too can be a doctor/health care worker and come back to serve our community.”