--
Dean Huffman
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Dear friends,
I am sad to report that Lester Weiss passed away over the weekend. A brief
obituary follows.
Dan Van Dyke
Dr. Lester Weiss, age 68, died peacefully at home on May 23, 1998. Dr. Weiss
had a powerful and positive influence on the provision of clinical genetics
services in Michigan. He earned is M.D. at Hahnemann Medical School, and was
a resident physician at St. Christopher Hospital in Philadelphia. He was
board certified in Pediatrics in 1962, and in Medical Genetics in 1982, and
he was a charter member of the American College of Medical Genetics. He
joined the staff of Henry Ford Hospital in 1966 and was appointed Chair of
the Department of Pediatrics in 1974. In 1980, he became the director of the
Medical Genetics and Birth Defects Center, which he developed into the
Department of Medical Genetics in 1996. The genetics program led by Dr.
Weiss was the largest in Michigan, and consistently provided the the most
up-to-date services to its patients. Dr. Weiss is the first physician to
have chaired two departments at Henry Ford Hospital. He pioneered the
concept of genetics field clinics, and thereby served patients throughout
southeastern Michigan with clinics in Bay City, Midland, Pontiac, Port
Huron, and Saginaw.
His innovative telemedicine technology was featured by Time magazine in
1996. Dr. Weiss' career was recognized widely; he was honored with many
awards including 1994 Pediatrician of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of
the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1997 induction into the CATCH for a Cure
Hall of Fame, and a 1997 Distinguished Career Award by the Henry Ford Alumni
Association. Dr. Weiss' will be remembered fondly by his legion of
colleagues, residents, fellows, and students, and for his many academic
contributions. It is noteworthy that his first publication was on the
genetics of cancer cells, because he won his battle with the disease by
living with great dignity, good humor, and a consistent interest in the
welfare of others.
Dr. Weiss is survived by his wife Martha, his daughters Leslie, Diane, and
Gail, his four grandchildren Alan, Eli, Michelle, and Elyssa, and by his two
brothers, Howard and Ben.
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Dean G. Huffman Phone: 217 787-3745 FAX 217 787-0680 (Home)
perinatl@slip.net 217 782-9666 217 524-2432 (Office)
This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. H
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