Leroy SHEAR

1933 - 2021

SHEAR, Leroy "Lee" passed away peacefully August 29, 2021 after a long illness. COVID-19 was a late contributor to his passing at age 88. Lee was born in Baltimore, MD, February 20, 1933 to Samuel and Ella (Baer) Shear, becoming the younger brother to Howard. He earned a Bachelor's degree at Johns Hopkins University and an MD from the University of Maryland Medical School. Lee and Sheila Bloch married during their time in Baltimore. As those who knew Lee will attest, he enjoyed recounting memories of his summer as a taxi driver during medical school. His two daughters were born during his residency and fellowship training at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, where he specialized in nephrology. Lee served as a Captain in the U.S. Army and served for four years as Chief of the Renal-Metabolic Clinic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. The family moved to Cleveland, OH, where Lee was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; to Marion PA, where he was Associate Professor and Director of Nephrology at the Temple University School of Medicine; and to Longmeadow, MA, where he was the Director of the Renal Section at Baystate Medical Center and a Clinical Associate Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. Ultimately, he was the inaugural medical director of the Western Massachusetts Kidney Center, a dialysis center which he ran for many years. Lee was highly active in medical research, publishing dozens of original research articles in prestigious medical journals and traveling internationally to present his work. He served on the editorial boards of prominent nephrology journals, and was the chair or board member for medical standards committees and medical advisory boards. He retired from medical practice in 1989. Lee remarried and lived with his wife, Linda Shakespeare and stepdaughter, Heather, in Northampton, MA before the couple retired to Tampa, FL. They volunteered for many years at the Lowry Park Zoo and the Tampa Bay Aquarium, where Lee was a dedicated docent on the aquarium's boat trips on the bay. Lee had long been an avid private pilot, and he gave his time through Flying Physicians to fly people in need of medical care or disaster relief. He had particularly fond memories of flying turtles and an otter to their new homes at the aquarium. He was a passionate member of Ye Olde Aire Crewe, a pilot group in Tampa that flew in formation to defend the Conch Republic at each year's Independence Celebration in Key West, among other prominent local events. Throughout his life, Lee was very active and had many interests, including extensive global travel, skiing, tennis, sailing, workout classes, music and photography. He was a patron of the performing arts and the environment, and a longtime holder of his prized season tickets for the Buccaneers. Lee instilled in his daughters and grandchildren a love of travel, a critical mindset and a passion for lifelong learning. He had a strong sense of self that remained even as his memory declined in his later years. Those close to him valued his enduring friendship and sense of adventure. Lee is survived by his wife, Linda Mae Shear of Tampa, FL; daughter, Paula Kay Shear of Cincinnati, OH; daughter, Linda Fay Shear and son-in-law, Romel Jacinto of San Mateo, CA; stepdaughter, Heather Hart of Summerville, SC; and beloved granddaughters, Rebecca and Rachel Schafer. Private memorial activities will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Tampa Bay Aquarium.