DR. JACK SEGAL

Dr. Jack Segal, who retired last year after 63 years as Memphis’ longest practicing pediatrician, died Thursday, May 19, 2011, at Baptist Memorial Hospital. He was at least 90. Jack was born in Lipno, Poland. When he immigrated as a child to the United States in 1926, immigration officials at Ellis Island declared that he was 6, even though he always suspected he was a few years older. Jack was one of two children of Leah and Joseph Segal, who came to Memphis to join family members and eventually open their own grocery store. He graduated from Central High School and Memphis State College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in education. His goal was to teach art. Yet his plans changed after Pearl Harbor, when he decided that the army needed more doctors than art teachers. He was drafted shortly after being accepted into medical school, so he entered the army through an accelerated medical program that produced medical army officers. On December 24, 1944, he briefly returned home to Memphis to marry the first love of his life, Esther Mildred Hyman. After the war, he discovered that the second love of his life was pediatrics and caring for children. He finished his medical training and prepared to start his medical career when he again was beckoned to serve his country during the Korean War. Since there wasn’t much need for a pediatrician among the U.S. troops in Korea, Jack was sent to care for the families of the generals who ran the occupation forces in Heidelberg, Germany. After his two-year commitment, he and his family returned to Memphis and he established a pediatric practice with Dr. Joe Parker. They remained medical partners for 50 years. During his many years of caring for this city’s children, Jack often spoke about the satisfaction of witnessing great advancements in medicine, including the eradication of once-deadly childhood diseases such as polio, tetanus, and diphtheria. Jack’s interest in medicine reached beyond his medical office. He served a president of the Memphis and Shelby County Pediatric Society, and served as a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Tennessee Pediatric Association, and in 2010 was honored as Senior Pediatrician of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics. Jack and his wife, who preceded him in death in 2007, traveled extensively, particularly to American Academy of Pediatrics conferences throughout the world. Jack was a member of Temple Israel, and a founding member of Beth Sholom Synagogue. He is survived by three children: David Segal, Rayanne Segal, and Howard (Debbie) Segal, all of Memphis, and he also was preceded in death by his son, Jay Segal. Jack also leaves six grandchildren: Scott (Brenda) Segal, Lisa (Jeff) Mollerup and Shelly Segal, all of Memphis, and Brooke Steiger of Los Angeles and Caitlin Steiger of Miami, Florida, and Stacy Segal of Indianapolis; five great-grandchildren; and perhaps more than 300,000 children he cared for during his career. Services will be 11:30 a.m. today, May 20, at the Levy-Cooper Chapel in Temple Israel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you remember Dr. Segal with a contribution to a charity of your choice. Canale Funeral Directors 901-452-6400