DOROTHEA ZUCKER-FRANKLIN

ZUCKER-FRANKLIN--

Dorothea, 86, passed away on November 24th in her home in Manhattan. A highly respected hematologist and research scientist, Dorothea contributed to the basis of contemporary cell biology through her work on the microarchitecture of blood cells, including platelets, lymphocytes and megakaryocytes. Dorothea began life in Berlin, Germany, just as the National Socialist (Nazi) Party was gaining traction. She moved with her parents and younger sister, Marion, to Amsterdam, where they ultimately attended the same school as Anne Frank. On several occasions, Nazi soldiers visited the house where the family was living, and on at least one occasion, detaining them overnight. No longer able to obtain the visas needed for immigration, they went into hiding in the small town of Uithoorn during the summer of 1943. Following the liberation of Holland, Dorothea attended the Quaker international school in Ommen where she began learning English. In 1946, she boarded the MS Gripsholm with her mother and sister and crossed the Atlantic to arrive in the United States. There, she was able to attend Hunter College after completing her senior year at Forest Hills High School. She served as class president and valedictorian for the Hunter College, CUNY class of 1952 and was later awarded an honorary doctorate by the school. She recalled considerable opposition to her decision to pursue a career in medicine, but persevered and graduated from New York Medical College in 1956, as one of five women in her class. In May of 1956, she married Edward C. Franklin, M.D., beginning the warm and vivacious personal and professional partnership that lasted until his premature death in 1982. Together they purchased and cared for their much loved farm in the Berkshires, travelled internationally, collected pre-Columbian figurines, enjoyed so many of New York's cultural offerings as well as a sabbatical year in Paris and developed a passion for downhill skiing. Dorothea ultimately achieved the rank of full professor at NYU Medical School and continued to accrue professional accolades for the remainder of her career, including election as President of the American Society of Hematologists in 1995 and induction into the Institute of Medicine that same year. In addition to numerous original publications and public presentations, she co-authored a definitive atlas of hematology and saw it through three editions. She is survived by her daughter, Deborah Julie Franklin, PhD, M.D.; grandson, Edward Aaron Franklin; sister, Marion Zucker Goldstein, M.D. and nieces Lillian Goldstein Shapiro, M.D., and Naomi Goldstein. Funeral service Sunday, December 6th at 12 noon at Riverside Memorial Chapel. Charitable contributions to Selfhelp Community Services or Yad Vashem in her name are preferred in lieu of flowers.