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Herbert Dedo Obituary
Dr. Herbert Dedo passed away peacefully at home on August 5, 2021 – he was 88. He was born in Detroit, MI. He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he played clarinet in the Cal marching band. After medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, his NIH fellowships took him to St. Louis for a year and a half with Dr. Joseph Ogura and to Hamburg, Germany for one year with Professor Erich Dunker. He settled in San Francisco, CA where he was an Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon for 50 years during which he made significant contributions to the medical community. During his career he developed new surgical techniques, designed modifications to an instrument to look into the larynx (voice box) called the Dedo laryngoscope, authored over 100 peer-reviewed research papers in addition to medical books and chapters, lectured at medical conferences around the world, and trained residents, fellows, and medical students at UCSF. He was the first doctor west of the Mississippi to use a laser for surgery of the larynx.
Outside of the hospital he was fascinated by an eclectic set of topics. He had a voracious appetite for reading books, perusing museums for hours, and was captivated by archeology. He played the bagpipes as a member of the Black Raven Pipe Band as well as for special events at Grace Cathedral and the Bohemian Grove where he was a member for 52 years. He enjoyed opera and symphony landing a position as tour doctor for the San Francisco Symphony when they traveled in Japan. He nurtured fresh water and salt water fish and maintained a koi fish pond at his home. He enjoyed skiing at the Sugar Bowl Ski Area and participated on the Doctor's Ski Patrol.
He is survived by his first wife, Joan (28 years), and his wife of 33 years, Sigrid, his siblings (Dick, Dottie Butler, and Doug), his sons (Doug, Bill, and John) and step sons (Christopher and Stephen Homs), 10 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. A memorial service is planned at Grace Cathedral on Wednesday, October 6 at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to support the Pacific Voice and Speech Foundation (58 West Portal Ave, Suite 229, San Francisco, CA 94127), a California nonprofit organization, which was a key component of his medical practice.
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Memories and Condolences
for Herbert Dedo
Kathleen Kahn
April 8, 2024
My husband found a reference to Dr Dedo while reading an article about Robert Kennedy Jr this morning. I want you to know that I am so very grateful for his life because I am one of the persons he helped with his skill and bravery. My life has been enriched because of the many experiences available to me because of his surgical technique treating spastic dysphonia. I will be making a donation in his memory to the Pacific Voice and Speech Foundation.
John Emery
November 12, 2021
I was a patient of Dr. Dedo for ten years; I can only speak today because of his significant efforts in laser technology surgery. Over those ten years, and 40 surgeries, I lived in Japan, New Jersey, Venezuela, California, and finally Florida. Dr. Dedo was the only doctor I trusted with my ENT health, and my future ability to speak; or not.
Donald Johanson
September 29, 2021
My condolences go out to the Dedo family. Herb was a dear friend, we spent numerous hours talking about Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon, Upper Paleolithic art. He travelled with me to remote parts of South Africa. I recall the special time we spent in the Dordogne in southwest France conversing about the origins of the human mind...I shall miss seeing this dear friend who always stimulated me to think more deeply about so many things,
Gerti Partsch-Miller
September 17, 2021
It was a pleasure and honor to work and learn so much from Dr. Dedo as one of his OR nurses at UCSF-MZ hospital. Thank you for teaching and sharing this pioneer work and groundbreaking research in Micro-laryngeal procedures. I will always cherish the memories of Dr.Herb Dedo.
My sincere condolences to Sigrid and the family.
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Robert W. Mayo MD
September 14, 2021
Alice and I and my daughter (Kathryn Howe) extend our condolences to Sigrid and Herb,s family. Herb and I had adjacent rooms at the Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity house at UCSF, We have good memories from our medical school days there and our too infrequent get togethers since then with you and he at your home ,out to dinner, class reunions, etc, Herb and his unending stories will certainly be missed.
Kathryn Mayo Howe
September 14, 2021
Dr. Dedo was a fellow UCBerkeley student and UCSF School of medicine graduate with my father, Dr. Robert Mayo . They have remained life long friends. The Mayo family sends condolences to the Dedo family and gratitude for a lifetime of friendship .
Frizena Sweetwyne
August 28, 2021
It was a pleasure working with Dr. Dedo as one of his OR nurses at UCSF-MZ hospital. Thank you for teaching and sharing your knowledge. I will always remember Dr. Dedo. My sincere condolences to the family.
Diane Briltz
August 23, 2021
I met Dr. Dedo in 1984 for help for my daughter, Angela. She was nine years old. She had developed a thyroglossal duct cyst when she was four. It had been removed by an ENT doctor in Vallejo, but it ruptured during surgery, and grew back. She had two more unsuccessful operations in the next three years before getting a referral to Dr Dedo. Unlike the two former physicians, Dr. Dedo was straight-forward about the risks, even telling us that he would need to scrape her larynx to get the entire cyst out and may damage the vocal cord. Yet if that happened, he would repair it with a bit of Teflon. I trusted him immediately, and he successfully removed the remains of the cyst giving my daughter her life back with no damage to her vocal cord We are so grateful for him. Today, I looked for him on the outside chance he was still available to help a friend who suffered a serious injury to the larynx and whose voice has begun to come back, but he is living with a trachea and has trouble breathing. I wonder is anyone could help him the way Dr. Dedo helped us. My condolences to Dr. Dedo´s family. He was the most remarkable doctor imaginable, and my family is forever in his debt.
Jeff Koblick and Cal Beta SAE Fraternity
August 22, 2021
Herb was a member and great supporter of the Cal Beta SAE Fraternity at UC Berkeley. He was well respected and loved by his fraternity brothers. Phi Alpha and Go Bears to Herb in the Chapter Eternal. We will miss him.
C David Jensen MD
August 22, 2021
Ann and I offer our condolences to Sigrid and Herbs extended family. We kept in touch and
Enjoyed many dinners and conversation over the years. Herb was "one of a kind" and will
Be fondly remembered and deeply missed.
Sharon Ghilardi-Udovich
August 20, 2021
Dr. Dedo was my Dad´s throat specialist. He was wonderful and helped my Dad through a very difficult time. Even though his vocal cord was removed he still was able to tell Dr Dedo that the bag pipe was not an instrument to brag about. The tuba was a real man´s instrument! Many laughs could be heard at each office visit. To Dr Dedo´s family my prayers and deepest sympathy. I think there will be a bag pipe and tuba jam session going on in heaven very soon.
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