Keith Jeoffrey Kimble, MD

Keith Jeoffrey Kimble, MD died peacefully at home on May 16th, 2023, following a brief battle with cancer. He was surrounded by the love of his four daughters when he passed.

Born in Detroit, MI on December 7th, 1949 to Kirby and Miriam (Price) Kimble, he grew up in Virginia and Georgia, with his younger sister, Marcie (Dickenson).

A lifelong learner, lover of language and writing, star tennis player, and the smartest guy we have ever known, Dad spent some of the happiest years of his life as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1971. He went on to pursue his passion for medicine at the University of Michigan, where he met his first wife, Deb, with whom he had his four girls - Susan, Laura, Caitlin, and Sarah.

Dad completed his residency and fellowships at Stanford in pediatrics, neonatology and anesthesia, and always spoke highly of his Stanford colleagues and all that he learned in his time there.

He found his hospital home at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and cared for countless patients in his near 40 years there. He was generous in sharing his exceptional talent, and was a mentor and teacher to many clinicians. Cedars was also where he met his second wife, Janet.

Dad rarely took a true vacation; his time away from Cedars was spent traveling the world on medical missions, most recently with Mending Kids International, visiting his daughters, and buying an immense collection of stuffed animals for his grandchildren. We took a great family trip to Austin, Texas in October to bask in Dad's passion for Formula One racing and have the whole family under one roof. We are so grateful we took the time to make those memories.

Dad instilled his passion for medicine, knowledge, professionalism, generosity, creativity, and integrity in his daughters - two nurses, an attorney, and a teacher. He taught us the value of working hard to achieve our goals, and when that next achievement comes, we can't imagine not sharing it with Dad.

He relished his role of Granddaddy to Brighton, Tristan, and Hudson Cork, and Alexandra and Caroline Krause. As the resident professional baby holder, he was very much looking forward to welcoming his third grandson, Jackson Krause, in August.

He loved his dog Sully, a Landseer Newfoundland who passed away last year, and his cars, whose anthropomorphic personalities live on in family legend. Weekend mornings he could be found in the garage, puttering around the cars he cared so deeply for and maintained to a museum quality.

Dad had just retired from active practice in December and moved to Arizona to be closer to his daughter, son in law, and three of his grandchildren. He enjoyed a couple months of leisure, and a trip to Seattle to visit three of his daughters and two granddaughters, before his illness announced itself in the least subtle of ways.

In lieu of a traditional memorial, we - and he - ask that you enjoy a dinner with your loved ones, drink the good wine, take that vacation, and hold on to each other. Dad's time was cut short and there were so many more good times we wish we could have shared with him.

We would love to hear your memories of our dad - please send us a note at RememberingDrKimble@gmail.com.