Lloyd Fleisher

1946 - 2025

Lloyd Fleisher

January 19, 1946 - August 24, 2025

Cary, North Carolina - Lloyd "Lonnie" Fleisher was born in Brooklyn, NY to Max and Mollie Fleisher in Jan 1946. He was predeceased by his parents and two brothers (Alan and Arthur). After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1967, he was a middle school teacher in the NYC school system. He then went to graduate school at the City University of NY at Mount Sinai Medical School, getting a PhD in Pharmacology in 1977. He met the woman who would be his wife, Chris McGahan, in this program.

After post-doctoral training at Columbia University, Lonnie and Chris moved to the brand new College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University in 1982. They were among the first faculty hires. Lonnie taught Pharmacology to every class of students at the College until he retired in 2016. He loved teaching and cared deeply about his students and their success. For these efforts he won many awards, including selection to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 2007 and a finalist for the highest teaching award given by the University System, the Board of Governors Award.

In addition to teaching, Lonnie was dedicated to service at the University. He served on the Faculty Senate for many years, consistently volunteering on many demanding subcommittees. Notably, he served for many years on and chaired the University's IACUC committee, where he helped many faculty members navigate the arduous process of writing research protocols in support of their intra- and extramural applications. In all of the activities in which he participated, he was dedicated to helping people. He was kind, witty, and a lot of fun to be with. He made an indelible and wonderful impression on so many people.

He derived great pleasure from singing, starting as a young boy in the Spector Choir in New York. He had a beautiful tenor voice and sang and recorded folk music with his brother, Arthur, who was a professional musician. He then went on to sing with the Collegiate Choral in Manhattan and finally here in NC with the Choral Society of Durham. One of his great pleasures was to sing with them at the Haydn Festival in Vienna in 2012.

Finally, he was a dedicated family man. He spent 49 years with Chris McGahan with whom he shared a laboratory. Together they had two beloved sons, Daniel and Colin, who brought two amazing women into the life of the family, Debbie Winter (Daniel) and Caroline Strazis (Colin), and then grandchildren Avigayil, Efrayim, Evey Fleisher and Emory Strazis. He also leaves his beloved sister, Beth Fleisher, and her son, Eli Thorp. His love for his family is truly a thing of beauty and wonder, which makes his death from COVID so sudden and painful.

A graveside service will be held at Raleigh Memorial Gardens on Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 2PM. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Lonnie's favorite charities, such as St. Jude's or Feed the Children, or to a charity of your choice.