BURTON SPEISER

SPEISER--Dr. Burton.

Dr. Burton "Burt" Lyle Speiser, 69, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, passed away on October 18, 2015. He was born in New York City, NY on January 24, 1946, the second of four children of Mollie and Morris Speiser. Burt earned an AB in Biology from Queens College and an MD from the New Jersey College of Medicine. He completed his residency in Radiation Oncology while simultaneously earning an MS in Radiation Biology from the University of Rochester. On December 21, 1968 Burt married Jeanne Michelle Gale. They had three children-- Michael, Leonard, and Lisa. Burt was a Major in the U.S. Air Force where he served as Chief of Radiation Oncology at David Grant Medical Center (1974-1976) at Travis AFB, California. He was Associate Director of Radiation Oncology at LDS Hospital (1976-1979) in Salt Lake City, UT. He was Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Indiana University (1979-1980) in Indianapolis, IN. In 1980, Dr. Speiser relocated to Phoenix, Arizona with his family where he worked for several decades as Director of Radiation Oncology at St. Joseph's Hospital and Director of Brachytherapy at Humana Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital. While Burt was passionate about his work, he was a husband and father first. He enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his family and teaching life lessons to his children every night at the dinner table. While Burt encouraged his children to pursue their own dreams, he was never prouder than when his daughter Lisa followed in his footsteps and became a physician. Burt was also an avid reader, hiker, SCUBA diver, and outdoorsman. Burt is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jeanne, his sons Michael and Leonard, his daughter Lisa, his daughters- in-law Mary and Jessica and his seven grandchildren Lauren, Emma, Henry, Anna, Mackenzie, William, and Isabella. The family will be having a private memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.