Dr. Howard H. Sussman, z”l, passed away surrounded by his children July 14, 2022. He is survived by children, Sarah (Nicolas), Rai Sue (Bernie), and Daniel (Patricia); grandchildren, Alec and Magali Saint-Arnaud, Avigdor and Neilda Jean Sussace, and Ariella and Lilah Sussman; sister-in-law Ceevah Sobel and her husband, Irwin; sister, Roberta Olman; and nephew and niece, Steven Sussman and Sally Khandadash.
He was predeceased by his parents, Maurice D. Sussman, lawyer, and Sarah (Sally, née Rosenfeld), and sister, Laura. His wife, Neilda Sussman (née Freedman), passed away in 2014.
Howard was born Oct. 21, 1934, and spent his childhood in northeast Portland, part of a large extended family closely tied to the city’s Jewish community. Summer jobs in Portland included selling shoes in a relative’s store and helping to build the Morrison Bridge.
He graduated from Grant High School as valedictorian in 1952. In his later years, when asked who Grant High’s rival was he responded: “Grant had no rivals.”
He earned his BS from University of Oregon, followed by an MS in Biochemistry and an MD from Oregon Health Sciences University. After spending much of the 1960s on the East Coast doing medical residencies at the National Institutes of Health and NY Presbyterian Hospital, he returned to the West Coast in 1970 to take a faculty position in Pathology at the Stanford School of Medicine.
Stanford’s Pathology Department had just been formed and Howard took on the role of organizing the clinical pathology laboratory into a functional research and testing lab. His interest in medical research and computer systems led him to work with computer scientist graduate students to automate Stanford Hospital’s clinical laboratory operations. The system that they put in place was adopted by Stanford Hospital and used as the base of the medical record and billing system for the next thirty years. He also collaborated with and mentored countless scientists, eventually publishing over 80 scientific papers.
Professionally, he was known as a forward-thinking director, always looking to integrate the latest technology into the clinical laboratories, and supporting advances in the field. He was a regular presence in the laboratories, taking a personal interest in staff and their welfare.
Upon his passing, many of those whom he worked with over the years fondly recalled his friendship and guidance of their professional growth. To quote one laboratory colleague, “His insightful smile, glare, and/or perplexed look provided us with the instant feedback we needed to navigate through our professional journeys. We all loved your dad!” Later in his career he consulted on hospital laboratories and collaborated with scientists in the US and abroad, including Vietnam, China, and Mexico. He often brought his wife Neilda along on his travels.
Always athletic, he was a standout in handball as well as baseball, and was the 1955 University of Oregon handball champion. Baseball was a particular love–he played at the U of O and happily coached his children’s little league and softball teams. Other athletic feats included climbing and summiting Mount Hood in the early 1950s (after which he decided not to pursue more mountain climbing), skiing, and swimming. Always up for adventure, he went free-diving for abalone – once. He would sometimes walk or bike to work a few miles away, or go on long bike rides after work or on the weekends. He used his athleticism in the lab and kitchen to catch dropped test-tubes or glasses with his foot, like a hackysack, to prevent them from shattering.
Howard’s interests ranged far beyond medicine and sports. He had a unique sense of humor, sometimes juvenile, always dry. His love and retention of history was legend, as was his appetite for reading and his extensive home library. He could converse on a myriad of topics, including obscure battles, pre-Roman history, sports, and politics. A colleague wrote that he was “as interested in and able to talk about Shackleton in the Antarctic, obscure aspects of the First World War, or 19th century Clipper Ships, as any of the ongoing issues of a busy laboratory operation. This was perhaps what I enjoyed most about him
He would expound on biblical and pre-Judaic history each year while conducting Passover seders surrounded by guests, and he participated in a monthly salon, the Saturday Morning Club. Howard lived an aesthetic life: he had style, enjoyed art and music, and cultivated friendships with a wide range of people. He loved cars, and a special treat for his kids was to go for a ride in his 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS, which he bought new and drove across the country, or the 1950 Willys-Overland Jeepster, the first car he and Neilda bought together.
Howard met Neilda, the love of his life, on a blind date while living in Washington, DC, in the 1960s. She followed him to San Francisco, where they married in 1970. They raised three children in the Ladera neighborhood of Portola Valley, and their home became a meeting place for their families and large community of friends. Howard was a devoted family man and proud and kind father to his children. He was always there to see his kids off to school and for nightly family dinners.
After the passing of his love, Neilda, Howard turned to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. In his later years he was well-cared for at Palo Alto Commons. The family wishes to especially thank Rita, Hazel, Jean and Chris, caregivers who all treated him with loving competence, skill, and respect. He will be missed by many.
The family suggests donations in his memory to Peninsula Open Space Trust, HIAS, Jewish Family and Child Service, or to the charity of your choice.