ROBERT PRIMO SHERMAN M.D.

ROBERT PRIMO SHERMAN, MD Dedicated to Public Health in Kansas City for Five Decades Robert Primo Sherman, MD, passed away August 3, 2016, from esophageal cancer. He was 82. Dr. Sherman was born Primo Roberto Amadio in Kansas City, Kan., to Italian immigrants Primo Amadio and Clementina Mattioli. Dr. Sherman attended St. Anthony's Catholic School in Kansas City, Kan., and graduated from Bishop Ward High School in 1951. He was drafted into the United States Army and spent most of his service at Fort Riley, Kan. During his Army service, Dr. Sherman officially changed his name to Robert Primo Sherman. After his Army service, Dr. Sherman returned to Kansas City to attend Rockhurst College. Graduating with a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1959, Dr. Sherman was accepted to the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and obtained his medical degree in 1963. Dr. Sherman completed a General Surgery fellowship at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Ohio, in 1966, before returning to Kansas City, Mo., to finish his residency in Internal Medicine (Hematology) and Gastroenterology at St. Luke's Hospital in 1967. Dr. Sherman completed a subspecialty fellowship in Pulmonary Disease at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1968. Dr. Sherman went into private practice in 1969 in Kansas City, Kan., specializing in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease. Dr. Sherman was the first practicing pulmonologist in the state of Kansas, and was a consulting physician on pulmonary diseases for the Veterans Administration in 1970-71. Dr. Sherman also worked part-time as an Associate Professor of Medicine (Clinical) at the University of Kansas School of Medicine from 1970-1980. Dr. Sherman started the Respiratory Therapy Services department at Bethany Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. and was its Medical Director from 1969-1989. Dr. Sherman was also Medical Director of the Bethany Medical Center Intensive Care Unit from 1979-1989. After closing his private practice in 1989, Dr. Sherman worked until 1998 as a staff physician at Kaiser Permanente, Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital, and Long Term Care (LTC). Dr. Sherman was also a member of the American Thoracic Society, served a term as President of the Kansas Thoracic Society, and served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Lung Association. Spanning his entire medical career, Dr. Sherman was the Director of the tuberculosis clinic at the Wyandotte County/KCK Public Health Department, from 1969 until his death. In 2014, Dr. Sherman was recognized for 45 years of continuous service to Kansas public health with a Special Service Award from the Kansas Public Health Association. Dr. Sherman enjoyed his later years reading, cooking, socializing, and traveling to California, Italy, and Germany to visit family and friends. Until his final days, Dr. Sherman enjoyed telling stories of growing up from modest beginnings in Kansas City, Kan., and was grateful for the loyalty and generosity of his closest lifelong friends. Dr. Sherman was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Louise (Lastelic) Sherman (d. 1979), and is survived by his four children, Robert P. Sherman Jr., DDS, Paul Clement Sherman, Jerome Anthony Sherman, and Claudine (Sherman) Abraham, Esq.; and five grandchildren.