Leslie Moglen

1941 - 2014

Dr. Leslie Moglen

Died Oct. 8 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena surrounded by his children. Dr. Moglen suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall. He was 73.

Born Feb. 25, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York, Moglen was a Navy surgeon, Ivy League tennis player, longtime Bay Area plastic surgeon, enthusiastic amateur ornithologist, lover of poetry, and Mill Valley town eccentric.

He suffered from Parkinson's disease in his final months, but Moglen's whimsical spirit, gentle nature and easy wit endured to the end. He died on a mission to pick cherry tomatoes from the garden, a beloved pursuit.

Moglen was the second of four children born to Ruth and Maxwell Moglen and grew up between Mt. Vernon, New York and the family's second home in Florida. He and his older brother, Lloyd, engaged in fierce tennis matches growing up. Moglen was undefeated in his high school career. Both brothers went on to play at Columbia University, teaming for a time as the No. 1 doubles team in the region. Les Moglen was captain of the tennis team in 1961.

Later, Moglen was a staple at the Mill Valley Tennis Club. He was a cherished and very popular member of the club.
Moglen dabbled in writing poetry and, often unprompted, would recite passages from Longfellow, Frost and Tennyson. In high school, he won the Canadian National Junior Poetry Competition and New York State Poetry contest.

Mostly, he was a man of science, attending medical school at University of Louisville and serving residencies at Kaiser and Mount Zion hospitals. He was a double boarded surgeon in plastic and reconstructive surgery and served as a volunteer surgeon in Vietnam. In 1972, he volunteered to treat Vietnamese civilian casualties in Dar Lac Province.

He roamed the trails of Marin County, most happily in the company of his five children, and could be seen, at times, sputtering the roads in his vintage, dilapidated convertible Volkswagen bug wearing bombardier goggles since it had no windshield.

In his spare time, he raised finches, grew tomatoes, tended to chickens, boxed and fancied himself a Brooklyn-born Jewish Cowboy. (He idolized singing cowboy Gene Autry as a lad.) He made people laugh, sometimes to tears. Above all, he loved his children and, eventually, doted on his four grandchildren. He had a wide circle of friends who all considered him a member of their families.
Les Moglen is survived by his wife Penelope, children Amy, Benjamin, Rebecca, Samuel and Sara and grandchildren Oliver, Ivan, Siena and Eliana, his brother Leland and sister Betty Lou. His older brother Lloyd died in 2002. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and dear friends whose lives were touched deeply by him.

A celebration of his life will be Thursday, October 23 at 2 p.m. at the Mill Valley Golf Clubhouse, 267 Buena Vista Ave., Mill Valley, 94941.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jewish Family and Children's Services (http://www.jfcs.org/).