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Abraham Rapoport Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers from Aug. 9 to Aug. 17, 2007.

RAPOPORT, Abraham, M.D., M.A., F.R.C.P.C., F.A.C.P., C.M. - On Wednesday, August 8, 2007. Beloved husband of Lailla and father of Nessa and Tobi, Ruth, Tova, Myra and Michael. Devoted brother of Louis and Rose, Morris and Shirley, Lee and Diana, Marvin and Ieda. Loving grandfather of Rebecca, Ben, Josh, Ethan, Mattie, Leora, Mati and Doria. Dedicated son, uncle, cousin and friend. Former Physician- in-Chief of The Toronto Western Hospital and Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto. Gifted diagnostician, teacher and mentor to many. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue W., on Thursday August 9, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. Interment Shaarei Shomayim section of Bathurst Lawn Memorial Park. Shiva at 43 Avenal Drive. Donations may be made to the Dr. Abraham Rapoport Memorial Fund c/o The Benjamin Foundation, 3429 Bathurst Street, Toronto, M6A 2C3, 416-780-0324, or www.benjamins.ca.

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August 14, 2007

Dimitrios Oreopoulos

I felt greatly honored when Leilla Rapoport asked me to say a few words about my mentor and role model, Dr. Abraham Rapoport, known to us all as Abe.
I will touch briefly upon four aspects of Abe’s life:
The scientist/teacher
The human being
The role-model and
The mentor
Abe was one of the founders of Nephrology in Canada.
He performed pioneer work in hypertension, kidney stones, glomerular diseases, metabolic bone disease and calcium and magnesium metabolism. Very few people know that he performed and later published the results of the first long-term peritoneal dialysis in Canada.
Abe was an outstanding teacher, a responsibility that he took very seriously. Those who were lucky to train with him learned both the science and the art of medicine. His former fellows will remember the stress Abe placed on the minute details of a patients’ history; he insisted on a detailed investigation of each patient, most of whom had complicated medical problems that other physicians could not sort out and referred them to him. Those of his students who became nephrologists will remember his emphasis on urine microscopy, a field in which he was not surpassed. Many of the physicians he trained now occupy positions of leadership.
Dr. Pierratos, a former fellow of his, made the following comment on hearing of
Abe’s death:
“Abe encapsulated what ‘scholarly’ meant. He created the environment where science, quality, responsibility, compassion, kindness and generosity flourished. Where the competitive spirit was benevolent, gentle, yet strong. Where the excitement, collegiality and humour were prevalent”.
Abe was an exceptional human being. He had a genuine interest in other people,
whether fellows, nurses or patients. He was always kind and compassionate; above all, when he was with you, he was present, and thus made you feel good in your time with him.
Here is an example of the effect that Abe had on others. One of my early fellows was a rough military doctor, who spent 6 months with us at the Western. After only two meetings with Abe, and not knowing how better to express the feelings these encounters provoked in him, he said: “Strange, but if this man asked me to jump out of a window, I would do it”.
Once I discussed with Dr. Sam Silverberg, one of his former fellows, what would make a man become such a great human being. We both agreed that he was special in part because he was the product of a post-war generation of low-income immigrant families.
For me, and I am sure for many others, Abe was my role model, the kind of person and teacher that I wanted to become. For one thing, being a volatile Greek, I could not understand how, he could get upset sometimes without ever getting angry.
Finally, Abe was always available to be a mentor to those who wanted that from him. He cared about his fellows’ academic and personal growth and did everything he could to foster that growth. In research, he was always available to discuss the progress being made in various projects. He took genuine pride in the progress and achievements of his students, fellows and junior staff. Abe was available not only to talk about science but, because of his interest in you as a person, you could talk to him about problems in your personal and family life. Having four young children at that time I often drew on his wisdom; after all he had four daughters himself.
The citation of the committee that bestowed on Abe the Order of Canada, summarizes succinctly his life and contributions.
They said: Abraham Rapoport had played a key role in the development of nephrology in Canada. A former physician-in-chief at Toronto Western Hospital, Rapoport set high standards of excellence in clinical care and research. By both recruiting and training many young clinicians and investigators, he developed an outstanding department of medicine at the hospital. As a researcher, teacher and administrator, he had been a role model and mentor to countless physicians and students”.
Abe will live in the minds of those, like myself, whose lives were touched by him and loved him. I will remember him as long as I live.
Dimitrios Oreopoulos
Professor of medicine
University of Toronto

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