Dr. Raphael Poritsky

Dr. Ray Poritsky, age 83, died at home Aug. 19th, 2013. Born Raphael Leon Poritsky, Nov. 6th, 1929, in Schenectady, NY to Hillel and Elizabeth Poritsky. Ray graduated from Knott Terrace High School in 1947. A talented pianist, Ray majored in music and graduated in 1951 at Dartmouth College. Ray enlisted in the Army and went to Korea, where he attained the rank of corporal. When Ray returned from Korea, he married his college girlfriend, Connie Parsons in 1954. Ray earned a certificate in medical illustration from the University of Rochester, and a then received a masters degree in zoology in Ithaca, NY, worked as a biological illustrator at Cornell University. In 1961 they moved to Ohio to teach Case Western Reserve University and earned a doctorate in anatomy. Ray and family moved to Hudson, OH in 1969 to teach at Kent State University. He returned to Case Western Reserve a few years later to direct a new program in medical illustration which split his time between the Medical School and the Cleveland Institute of Art. Ray was a very popular professor, confident public speaker and a gifted story-teller, which in 1984 earned him the Kaiser Permanente Excellence in Preclinical Teaching Award. In the mid eighties he published Neuroanatomical Pathways, his first textbook; he went on to publish several more medical illustration anatomy textbooks before retiring in 1995. Retirement allowed him and Connie to spend most of the year at a family cabin in Connies hometown of Scituate, MA, eventually residing there year round until Connies death in 2011. Ray then returned to the house in Hudson, living there in the loving and compassionate care of his son Marc, daughter-in-law Laura, and granddaughter Vanessa. Survivors include a sister, Margot Jerrard (Richard) of Urbana, IL; a brother, Bertrand (Nancy) of St. Paul, MN; a daughter, Anne of Godfrey, IL; sons John (Debra) of Williamsport, PA, and Marc (Laura) of Hudson, OH; and grandchildren Joel, Vanessa, and Robert. A memorial service and an Alzheimer's awareness fundraiser will be held on Sunday 9/29/13 from noon- 5 pm at the Barlow Community Center, 41 S. Oviatt St., Hudson. The fundraiser is open to the public and will feature Rays artwork for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Association. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 70 W. Streetsboro St. Hudson, OH 44236.