Constantin Cope

1927 - 2016

On Sunday November 6, 2016, 12:35 PM, Constantin (aka Stan or Kostia) Cope, M.D., died at the age of 89. He was one of two children of Esther (Mandelbaum) and Aaron Kope (Kopelowicz). His brother had Down syndrome and passed at an early age. He lived a fascinating and fortunate life. He created and developed the field of Interventional Radiology and was an inventor of many types of catheters used in Interventional Radiology. He was born in Paris, France June 3, 1927. At the age of 10, his father sensing the impending danger of Hitler, moved them to London, England; where he spent his school years studying amidst the London Blitz of WWII. His father’s family in Poland, were victims of the Holocaust and in 1942 his mother’s brothers were picked up by French police during the Velodrome d’Hiver roundup and deported to Auschwitz and killed. After the war, he transferred from London University, Middlesex Hospital Medical School in England to New York Medical College, NewYork, NY, where his parents had emigrated. Shortly after, he became a United Sates citizen and was drafted in the army as a medical officer during the last years of the Korean War. After the war he returned to NYC to begin his medical internships and met and married, Mary Grace Heller (Cope) of Englewood, NJ. In 1963, after completing his Internal Medicine training at Memphis Veterans Hospital, associated with Baptist Memorial Hospital, in Tennessee and having 3 of his 5 children, he was given an attending position at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, where he had 2 more children and was given the opportunity to create, develop and expand the new field of Interventional Radiology. At this time, he needed someone to manufacture his new inventions and during a medical convention, he met William (Bill) Cook, who was manufacturing wire guides, needles and catheters out of his apartment in Indiana. From a handshake agreement, Constantin was able to manufacture his first catheter invention and began a life long friendship. Bill Cook’s company grew and became one of the largest international medical device companies in the world, Cook Medical Inc. Constantin transferred to The Hospital of University of Pennsylvania in the ‘80s to expand his research career. During that time, he was awarded: The SIR Gold Medal with William Cook in 1999, New York Medical College Alumni Gold Medal, 2001, as well as SIR Leaders in Innovation Award, 2004 prior to his medical career retirement. He, his wife and their dog, Peris Cope, enjoyed their retirement in Bend, Oregon, but continued to do part time research and “gadgetry” at Dotter Institute in Portland, Oregon until 2005, when a stroke limited his speech and challenged his walking. In 2012, he moved back to the Philadelphia area with his wife, who had Alzheimer’s, so his children could help care for her. During his life he loved: Violin, Tennis, Hiking, Biking, Travel, Inventions, Classical Music and his Family. He is survived by: (wife) Mary Grace Heller Cope, (son) Leonard and wife Susan Cope, (son) Daniel and wife Dawn Cope, (daughter) Evelyn Stainthorpe, (daughter) M. Constance Cope Franckle and husband William Franckle lV, (son) James and wife Vania Shih Cope. Grandchildren: Michael Cope, Danielle Cox and husband Seth Cox, Timothy Cope, James Cope, Nicholas Cope, Kevin and wife Melissa Cope, Matthew Stainthorpe, Jehna Stainthorpe, Garrett Franckle, Maxwell Franckle and Great-Grandson: Caden Cox. Memoriam donations can be made to: New York Medical College: www.nymc.edu, SIR Foundation-Society of Interventional Radiology: www.sirweb.org, Penn Medicine: www.pennmedicine.org Family and Friends Celebration of Life will be held, Sunday, November 27, 2016 1pm-4pm. Bring your stories and share from 1pm-2pm, 2pm-4pm (food and drink) at Cheltenham Center for the Arts 439 ASHBOURNE ROAD, CHELTENHAM, PA 19012.