Dr. Sharad Dinkar Deodhar
Dr. Sharad Dinkar Deodhar, 81, died peacefully at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Monday, August 15, 2011, after a long illness.
He was born in Pune, India, and immigrated to the United States in 1949 as a Fulbright Scholar at Penn State University.
Dr. Deodhar graduated from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, with a PhD in biochemistry in 1956 and MD degree in 1960.
Dr. Deodhar served for 20 years, and with great distinction, as the Chief of the Immunopathology Section, Department of Clinical Pathology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. As a Professor of Pathology at CWRU School of Medicine, he published over 375 manuscripts, 186 of which were original research articles. Dr. Deodhar received wide acclaim and international recognition for his outstanding contributions to transplantation and tumor immunology research. He has received numerous awards and was inducted into the Cleveland Medical Hall of Fame in 2002.
In addition to being an outstanding researcher who possessed both quiet determination and the highest scientific integrity, Dr. Deodhar's greatest love in Medicine was teaching and mentoring students, residents, and fellows which he did with great humor, patience and insight. He served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program and his visiting professorships and guest lectureships spanned the globe. Dr. Deodhar was a long-standing and tireless volunteer with the American Cancer Society, including serving as president of the American Cancer Society's Ohio Division from 1994 until 1995.
Dr. Deodhar excelled as a cricket player in college at the University of Pune, India. Upon his arrival in the United States, tennis and platform tennis became his passion. A high point was reaching the second round of the 1951 U.S. National Tennis Championships in Forest Hills, New York (the predecessor of today's U.S. Open).
Dr. Deodhar leaves behind his loving wife, Glee Deodhar; his sister, Suman Athavale; his children, Tara, Melani, Neal, Deborah, Patricia and Hilary and their spouses; 11 grandchildren; his nephew, Niels Rathlev; a large extended family in India and Denmark; and numerous friends and colleagues in Cleveland, Ohio, Stuart, Florida, and Charlottesville, Virginia.
The family extends a special thank you to the staff of Healthcare 3 at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge for the exemplary care, love, and kindness they have provided.
Memorial contributions can be made to Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge Fellowship Fund or Employees Education Fund, Office of Development, 250 Pantops Mtn. Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22911.
A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, October 29, 2011, at the Cleveland Skating Club, Cleveland, Ohio.
This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.
