PORTLAND, ME
Bob Greenberg, beloved pediatrician and teacher, died on July 2, 2015 at the end of a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island during the great hurricane of 1938, Bob lived up to the promise of his dramatic arrival. After successful undergraduate years at Harvard University, he was admitted to medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his pediatric training at Children's Hospital in Boston.
Bob was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, and served at the Army hospital in Bad Canstatt, Germany, where he cared for the babies and children of servicemen and women. He concluded his Army service with the rank of Major.
Bob began the next phase of his career as a researcher at Duke University, then moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he made his mark in several areas, in particular the development of public health clinics in rural areas. He was also instrumental in developing the profession of pediatric nurse practitioners, and wrote the pediatric section of Patient Care Guidelines for Nurse Practitioners which became one of the most widely-used handbooks in the field. His research on the effects of passive smoking in infants earned an NIH grant, and resulted in several important articles, including one published in the New England Journal of Medicine. At UNC Bob was appointed Professor of Pediatrics.
Bob was awarded a U.S. State Department-funded IREX grant in 1976 to study rural health care delivery systems in East Germany. This study led to a book, several articles, and an exchange program which Bob established between U. S. and East German medical schools.
During these years he continued to direct the pediatric residency program at UNC Chapel Hill.
In 1990 he followed his wife whose job change led to a move to New Orleans. There Bob was appointed Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Tulane University, and Medical Director of Maternal and Child Health for the State of Louisiana. While in New Orleans he received several awards in recognition of his service to the city, including one from Mayor Marc Morial.
Bob was known and admired for his kindness, warmth, and humanity. It is not a surprise, therefore, that he considered his highest accomplishment rescuing and caring for countless homeless and abandoned animals over the course of forty years. The many dogs and cats he saved adored him and found a safe refuge for life in his home.
Bob's survivors are his wife of 50 years, Valerie (nee Schoenfeldt), and sister-in-law Helen Jacqueline Gray, as well as the current resident dogs - Brewster, Charlotte, and Poppy Jo - and four cats. Bob was predeceased by his mother Sarah (nee Strick) and father Max Greenberg, and his brother Leon Greenberg.
Anyone wishing to commemorate Bob's life may contribute to the Animal Welfare Society of Kennebunk, Maine, P.O. Box 43 West Kennebunk, ME 04094; the Animal Refuge League of Portland, Maine, P.O. Box 336, Westbrook, Maine 04098; or the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, Windham, Maine (horse rescue) P.O. Box 10, South Windham, Maine 04082-0010.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.FuneralAlternatives.net.
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