Obituaries
Included in this month's listings are former ACP President Ralph O. Wallerstein, MACP.
Ralph O. Wallerstein, MACP
Ralph O. Wallerstein, MACP, a former president of the College, died on May 31, 2009, at the age of 87.
A native of Dusseldorf, Germany, Dr. Wallerstein moved with his family to San Francisco in 1938. He graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco in 1945 and interned at San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Wallerstein served as a captain in the US Army from 1946-1948 before completing a fellowship in hematology at the Boston City Hospital.
Back in San Francisco, Dr. Wallerstein entered private practice in internal medicine and hematology. He also served as chief of staff at Children's Hospital, chief of clinical hematology at San Francisco General and a hematology consultant to Letterman Army Hospital and VA hospitals. Since 1969, Dr. Wallerstein had been a clinical professor of medicine and laboratory medicine at UCSF, becoming an emeritus professor upon his retirement.
He was president of the American Society of Hematology in 1978 and chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine from 1982 to 1983. Dr. Wallerstein was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1982.
Dr. Wallerstein served as president of ACP in 1988-1989. He became a Master of the College in 1989 and was ACP Governor for Nevada in 1977-1980 and Governor for California's northern region in 1980-1981. He also served on the Board of Regents from 1981-1990.
Leonard M. Keilson, FACP
Leonard M. Keilson, FACP, a lipids expert and dedicated clinician, died on May 25, 2009, at the age of 61.
Dr. Keilson received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont. He also earned a master's degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University after serving in rural Pennsylvania as a commissioned officer in the National Health Service Corps. Dr. Keilson joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins before moving to Maine to become the director of ambulatory medicine for the Maine Medical Center. He practiced as a cardiologist and educator in Maine for many years, founding the Maine Center for Lipids and Cardiovascular Health in 2004. Dr. Keilson also led many published trials related to lipids and was a director in clinical research management at the Maine Medical Center.
Dr. Keilson became a Fellow of the College in 1986 and served as ACP Governor for Maine in 1997-1998.
