Richard Kempczinski M.D.

1940 - 2017

KEMPCZINSKI

Our beloved "Dr. K", Richard F. Kempczinski, MD, died on March 8, 2017. He was born in Brooklyn NY on July 29, 1940. He completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, and graduated with honors in 1962. He entered Harvard Medical School in 1962 and graduated with honors, in 1967. Following a surgical internship at University Hospitals in Cleveland, he returned to Boston for his surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital where he studied vascular surgery under Drs. Robert Linton and R. Clement Darling, two pioneers in this emerging specialty. His surgical training was extended by two years of service in the U.S. Army (1970-1972), including a year in Vietnam where he attained the rank of Major. He began his academic career in 1974 at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver as Assistant Professor of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery at the VA Medical Center. During his stay in Denver, he helped create the Rocky Mountain Vascular Society. In 1979, he accepted a position as Associate Professor of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he established the Fellowship in Vascular Surgery and spent the remainder of his career. He bought a home in Indian Hill and enrolled his two children, Christopher and Catherine, in the Indian Hill school system. His interest in the vascular diagnostic laboratory began during his residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital where he worked in one of the first clinically active laboratories of its kind in the United States. Over the span of his career, he made numerous contributions to the vascular literature including his popular monograph, Practical Noninvasive Vascular Diagnosis. He helped establish the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Diagnostic Laboratories and served as its second President. In 2002, he received the Pioneer Award from the Society for Vascular Technology for his contributions to this field of study. In addition to more than 150 original articles and book chapters, Dr. Kempczinski authored or edited 7 books to the vascular literature, including The Ischemic Leg. He was Associate Editor of Rutherford's Vascular Surgery, generally recognized as the standard textbook in vascular surgery, and he served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Vascular Surgery and Perspectives in Vascular Surgery. In 1992, he was elected President of the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society. Following a body surfing accident in 1994 which left him quadriplegic, he retired from the University of Cincinnati as Professor Emeritus of Surgery. He helped start the Vascular Societies' home page on the Internet and served as its first Webmaster. After several months of rehabilitation at the Drake Center, he moved to the Meridian Condominium in Hyde Park. With the help of home health aides and a number of adaptive devices, he was able to live independently and remained active as a vascular consultant on the Internet. His beloved wife, Ann Marie Campbell who taught third-grade in Terrace Park Elementary School for many years, died of ovarian cancer in 1991. He is survived by a son, Christopher John Kempczinski, who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois and a daughter, Catherine Ann Major, who lives in Indian Hill. Both of them attended Indian Hill High School. His grandchildren are: Lily and John Kempczinski and Madeline and Alexander Major. Visitation Monday, March 13 from 5 to 7 PM at the Gilligan Funeral Home, 8225 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Mass of Christian Burial 9:30 AM Tuesday at St. Gertrude Church, 7630 Shawnee Run Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243. Interment to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, "Dr. K", would prefer any donations to be directed to the Ann Kempczinski Foundation which supports early literacy and after-school programs for children in need. Contributions can be sent to: Ann Kempczinski Foundation, 360 Beacon Street #1 Boston, MA 02116. This foundation is a 503(c) non-profit. Condolences may be expressed at:

GilliganFuneralHomes.com.