Obituary of Dr. Gregory S. Liptak

The falling snow on Sunday was the heavens weeping that Gregory S. Liptak, MD, MPH was taken too early from this world. For 14 months he fought a lethal and rare form of cancer that kills most people in half that time; he died at the age of 65 surrounded by his family late Saturday night at Strong Memorial Hospital. A colleague of his at Strong (where he practiced pediatrics for 27 years) once wrote that he was "a unique combination of talent, compassion, brilliance and creativity." As a world-renowned developmental pediatrician, Dr. Liptak improved the lives of thousands of children and families with rare diseases and disabilities. In an article he wrote for the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1985, Dr. Liptak reflected on his "crusade to protect life from the dragon of death." It is such a cruel irony that this hero would be stricken by the most deadly and poorly-understood dragon of all - cancer. He committed his life to serving others as a husband, a father, a teacher, a volunteer and an advocate for those who could not advocate for themselves. His passing will be deeply mourned, but his life and what he stood for will be eternally celebrated through The Liptak Foundation, dedicated to providing compassionate care to ALL patients and their families. A Memorial Service will be held in the spring of 2012. The Liptak family welcomes your thoughts and memories of a great man - please e-mail us at liptakfoundation@gmail.com.