Robert Kline Leet, MD

Dr. Robert K. Leet of Shrewsbury, Mass, at the age of 90, died peacefully at the Shrewsbury Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on January 14, 2026 with his wife of 67 years, Helena Leet-Pellegrini, by his side after a long journey with Alzheimer's disease. In 2017, Dr. Leet took it upon himself to write his own obituary:

I was born 7/16/1935 at Mass General Hospital, and lived in Harvard, Mass until 1958. 

Mother: Frances Adelaide Brokaw Leet born in Hiroshima, Japan (her father was a Presbyterian missionary); Father: Lewis Don Leet, Harvard University Professor and Seismologist (recorded first atomic bomb test, Alamogordo, NM 7/16/45; Sister: Nancy Anne Leet (Radcliffe College and mother of ten) 

Graduated from Bromfield High School, Harvard, MA, age 16. One year post-grad at Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire. 

Harvard College: Graduated 1957 (degree in geology). Pre-med at Tufts (‘58-‘59). 

Married Helena Mae Pellegrini (Radcliffe College and PhD in Psychology at Tufts) June 1958 (super-star and angel for a lifetime!!). 

Albany Medical College: Graduated 1963 with an M.D. degree. 

Internship and surgical residency (‘65-‘66) in Beverly, Mass. 

Harvard School of Public Health Master of Science and Master of Public Health (‘66-’67). 

Captain, Mass National Guard (‘64-’67). 

Residency in Aerospace Medicine, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas (‘66-’67). Went on a training exercise with astronauts. 

Physician at Mass General Hospital, and later with New England Baptist Hospital (1968-2006). 

Children: Gregory Nicholas (1962) - wife Azza → grandchild: Antarah; Gary Don (1964) - wife Nicole → grandchildren: Gianni, Gabrielle; Maria Nancy (1965) - husband David → grandchildren: Michaela, Camille 

Hobbies: Marathon running for ~25 years; Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots fan; Writing poetry and short stories (for example, A Giant Frog, Methane Smog, and Superspeed to Ganymede)

No Flowers

Photograph of Helena and Bob together

Bob loved to travel and gather with family and friends. As a lover of history, he fulfilled his dreams of cruising down the Danube, visiting Russia, and journeying through many World War I and II sites in Europe. In his later years, Bob and Helena moved to Southgate at Shrewsbury, and he was enriched by his membership in the Unitarian Universalist Society of Grafton and Upton. Bob is survived by his wife, sister, and her husband, children and their spouses, grandchildren, and a cornucopia of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and all loved ones. His kindness, his smile, his laugh, his loving care, his knowledge, his wisdom, his poetry, and of course, his puns, will be sorely missed. 

Services will be planned at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s name can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Arrangements made under the care of Kelly Cremation and Funeral Care.