Dr. Jeffrey M. Korff

Dr. Jeffrey M. Korff

Northampton, MA - Dr. Jeffrey M. Korff, a beloved Northampton endocrinologist, died at home on April 30, 2025 of cancer, with his wife at his side and his sons present in spirit. He was 73.

Jeff was a doctor's doctor, often consulted by fellow physicians about perplexing cases, even outside endocrinology. He was beloved by his patients for his diagnostic brilliance, keen intellect, patience, sense of humor, and caring manner. A proud iconoclast, many of his outlier opinions were later accepted to be the standard of care.

Jeff had a strong sense of social justice and was passionate about environmental issues. He was an early owner of the all-electric Chevy Bolt and loved pointing out that years earlier he was the first person in Western Massachusetts to place a deposit on a Toyota Prius. He was also committed to the control of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons development and served on the Board of the Treaty Alignment Campaign.

Born on Dec. 22, 1951 in Boston, to Helen (Pfeffer) Korff and Rabbi Nathan Korff, he was a direct descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chasidic movement. Jeff attended yeshiva, Hebrew High School in Boston, and earned a bachelor's degree in Hebrew Literature from Hebrew Teachers College in Boston. He chanted Torah and Haftarah beautifully and tutored many students in preparation for becoming bar mitzvah.

Jeff obtained his undergraduate degree from Boston University and his medical degree from Tufts University Medical School in Boston. After completing a fellowship in endocrinology at the University of Chicago, he continued his research work at the National Institutes of Health. It was in the basic science laboratory that Jeff made several observations of fundamental importance. His accomplishments there displayed the innovative side of his intellect.

Although he enjoyed bench research, Jeff decided that his heart was in the practice of clinical medicine. After a few years in New York, and always wanting to live in the country, he moved to Northampton in 1986 with his wife Shelley Steuer and then 1-year-old son Noah and became the area's first endocrinologist. While in private practice in Northampton several years later, Jeff and diabetes educator Kelly Henry co-founded the Center for Excellence in Diabetes Education (CEDE) to address a growing need. CEDE was eventually assumed by Cooley Dickinson Hospital with Jeff as its medical director.

Jeff relished his clinical practice as well as teaching medical residents and fellows. Through those many contacts with patients and trainees, he formed personal relationships that endured until the end of his life.

He was forced to close his practice in 2018 following a near-death medical event. Though he no longer practiced medicine in a formal way, Jeff continued to share his extraordinary clinical gifts with colleagues, family, friends, and friends of friends. He also served as an expert witness in criminal cases involving indigent defendants whose criminal acts were, in his opinion, caused by their out-of-control diabetes.

Medicine was Jeff's heart and soul, but it did not diminish his love for his family, his friends, the Red Sox and the Boston Bruins. Jeff often gleefully pointed out that he can be seen in the 1970 iconic photo of Bobby Orr flying through the air just after scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Bruins.

Jeff will be remembered as generous, kind, and fun-loving, with his disarming smile and loud, distinctive laugh. He was a voracious reader, an independent thinker, an ice cream maker extraordinaire (using dextrose instead of regular sugar), and an outdoor exercise enthusiast.

Jeff loved swimming in the ocean, having spent many summers growing up in Hull, Mass. He enjoyed the beauty of the Pioneer Valley, but his true 'happy place' in the last five years of his life was his tiny beach cottage in Hideaway Village on Buttermilk Bay in Bourne, Mass., where he spent as much time as possible. Just breathing the ocean air gave Jeff great joy.

When he learned of his terminal illness, Jeff enrolled in an online philosophy course about death and the meaning of life. His takeaway, which he imparted to his family and friends, was that one can be at peace with dying if they believe they lived a meaningful life. There is no doubt among those who knew and loved Jeff that he succeeded in that beyond measure.

He leaves --and will be dearly missed by--his wife, Shelley Steuer; his sons, Noah Korff of Plymouth and David Korff of Northampton; his brother, Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korff of Boston and Jerusalem; his sister, Dr. Janice Korff of New York City; his niece, nephews, cousins and many, many dear friends. His funeral was May 2 in Northampton, and he was buried in the Congregation B'nai Israel Cemetery.

Donations in Jeff's honor may be made to the Treaty Alignment Campaign, Slingshot.org, or Hospice of the Fisher Home.