Stanley Aronson M.D.

ARONSON, STANLEY MAYNARD M.D. 92, died January 28, 2015, at Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, with his wife, Gale, at his side. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of the late Elihu and Lena (Hasner) Aronson. A graduate of the City College of New York, New York University Medical School, (M.D., Class of 1947), and the Harvard University School of Public Health (MPH, 1981) he was a distinguished scientist, educator, mentor, civic leader, author and artist (as a painter, woodworker, sculptor and stone mason) and beloved teacher and mentor to legions of Brown and SUNY medical students. The author of more than 400 scientific papers and of textbooks and journalistic collections, Dr. Aronson's accomplishments include his investigative work (at Columbia University, 1951-55) identifying the pathways by which poliomyelitis and certain other viruses reach the brain, and writing the first published work on brown fat in the human body. During his tenure at the State University of New York's Downstate Medical Center, (1953-1969), as a neuropathologist, professor and assistant dean, he developed the aldolase test - the established diagnostic procedure for the early diagnosis of Muscular Dystrophy and conducted groundbreaking work in Tay Sachs disease, and related hereditary disorders, as well as in Lewy Body Dementia (1958) . In 1969, Dr. Aronson was named the founding dean of Brown University Medical School, which he led in 1970-81. There, he fostered the careers of many of this generation's most prominent physicians. Among his many other accomplishments as dean, he established the Brown-Dartmouth medical-program partnership and the Toogaloo College-Brown University program aimed at identifying students who would become physicians. Dr. Aronson served many international, national and local organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, The Miriam Hospital and Butler Hospital. He wrote for, and edited for, many professional journals. And for 23 years, he was a weekly columnist for The Providence Journal; many of his essays in that paper were reprinted in other newspapers around America and beyond. Among his many honors was the naming of the Stanley Aronson Chair for Neurodegenerative Diseases at Butler Hospital and the Stanley M. Aronson Fund for Research and Innovation at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Aronson was a co-founder of Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, in 1974, and the Interfaith HealthCare Ministries. He served as president of the Jewish Home for the Aged and was active in many other Jewish organizations. In the 1980's and '90's, he was a consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation's international medical epidemiology programs and for the Liaison Committee of Medical Education, for which he inspected and evaluated medical schools around the world. Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Sarah C. Aronson, M.D., of Cleveland, and her spouse, Dr. Virginia Ayers; Susan Symons, of Dallas; grandchildren Laura Cohen and John Symons, M.D., and Sofia, Stanley Max and Sutton Ayers-Aronson, and six great-grandchildren. He was the father of the late Lisa Aronson and the husband of the late Betty Aronson. A private funeral was held at Temple Beth El in Providence. A memorial service will he held at Brown University in the spring. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Home and Hospice of Rhode Island, the Stanley Aronson Chair for Neurodegenerative Diseases at Butler Hospital, or to the charity of your choice.