David Plotkin

David and Polly had every reason not to be friends with a German. But this friendship opened my eyes in many ways and gave me a new perspective on life and society. I miss the conversations with David. David and Polly will always be in our thoughts. Richard, Heike, and Aiden. Germany

My sincerest condolences to the entire Plotkin family. My memory of Dr. Plotkin was that he believed in caring for his patients as friends, not just a file in his office. He was caring and always took the time to explain and listen carefully to both my Mom and Dad. Thank you for being such a caring and professional friend.

Polly was a high school classmate of both my wife. Audrey. and myself and through her we metDavid many years ago -- He was a great doctor and a wonderful friend and we are all richer for having known him -- Judge and Mrs John S. McInerny

When "Doc" took me under his wing in 1977 I became one of his fledgling pre-meds, and the rest is history as they say. He changed my life and I still practice oncology using some of his philosophies that are deeply etched in my heart, mind and soul. He leaves a legacy in so many ways and I shall forever be grateful for his guidance and the time I spent under his tutelage.

I was Dr Plotkin's office manager in Culver City for several years. He took care of me and my children when they were sick and made sure I was well compensated and always had excellent health insurance for me and my children. He was a force for good and cared deeply about his family, his patents, and his employees. We, his employees, felt like family and knew he regarded us the same way. I will miss him and feel like the world is now smaller with him gone.

I played tennis with Dave for the past few years and in fact was his regular partner until he stopped playing. As Norm Rubinfeld indicated we rested between games and shared jokes and engaged in interesting intellectual conversations that Dave initiated. Besides his incredible medical knowledge, Dave could speak with authority on many other subjects. He will be missed ! We hereby extend our sympathies and prayers to his family.

My sincerest sympathies to the Plotkin family for their loss. David was not only an outstanding physician, but a renaissance man with a multitude of interests. I shall greatly miss my friend and the conversations we had on virtually every imaginable subject.

Peter Zarocostas

When David Plotkin recruited me from Roswell Park in 1978 to be the administrator of his Foundation, I entered a world of creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment - and science. His innovative belief in the role that private practice physicians could contribute to meaningful research was core to his being. Dr. Plotkin's leadership was extraordinary. He single handedly recruited 32 medical oncologists, from San Diego to Santa Barbara, developing the Oncology Network of Southern California. In...

I only had the pleasure of knowing Dave during the last five years of his life.I met Dr. Dave on the Palmia tennis courts. We would play two games, and then we would sit and shmooz for 5 or 10 minutes. Dave and I became good friends because I was one of the few people who could understand a little Yiddish --- and Dave loved to tell stories and jokes in Yiddish. He was the only Jew I ever knew who spoke Yiddish with a Texas drawl. Shortly after Polly died, Dave and I were sitting in his...