
Rudy will always remain in our memories as a wonderful physician and great friend.



A year later and it is a rare week that goes by without me being reminded of Rudy.  His smile, youth and vigor live on in memory.  He is and always will be missed.
Bill Morgan



I knew Rudy my entire life.  My parents met him while serving in the Army in 1966.  He and my dad shared many common experiences including being Jewish fathers, sportsmen, and hematologists in small mid-western cities where they rose to the tops of their fields.  Rudy sang at my wedding and he and Carol shared many Passover seders with us.  My dad loved him so much and so did my sisters and me.  We have many happy memories of being together.  Love to you Carol and the family.



Rudy was my friend and occasional ski companion, tho his true enjoyment was in cross-country, not downhill skiing.  Rudy had several rich lives, and I was fortunate enough to appreciate his role in several.  His central dedication was to medicine, and he lived that life to the fullest, following a hematologist's career at Gundersen Clinic--which would have been complete for most of us--with a pioneering career in palliative care at the University of Minnesota.

He shared a lifelong love of music and outstanding vocal performance with Carol. He was an all-round athlete; when the youngsters got miles ahead of the "groaners" on weekend bicycle trips, Rudy would hunch over, step on the speed pedal, and burn up the roads to catch them.  He created style points at the Gundersen-Trane annual ski race at Mt. La Crosse by appearing under an umbrella at the starting gate one moist day in early spring. He was a competitive cross-country skier, and learned the new skating technique to continue racing in the Birkebeiner. I never saw him play baseball, but I recall the modest delight he took in telling the story--just once, to me--of arriving as a new intern or resident at Boston City Hospital.  Legendary Franz Ingelfinger set up an early ball game for each new crop of house staff.  First time at bat, Rudy hit a home run.  As he crossed the plate, Franz I., all smiles, greeted him with outstretched hand and "Welcome to Boston, Rudy!" 


In addition to his devotion to clinical medicine, he experimented with  aspirin delivery systems to modify platelet function, and developed a transdermal aspirin patch for which he held a world-wide patent. 

He was a highly regarded teacher of residents and medical students, both in La Crosse and Minnesota.  


Rudy sailed on Lake Onalaska, and he raced tandem bicycle with Jim Horn. 

Rudy, we will miss you.

Bill Morgan



I knew Rudy as a fellow internist and friend at Gundersen Clinic.  Each fall in the late 1960's and 70's a group of us enjoyed 2 or 3 day bike trips around Southwest Wisconsin.  Several of our teenaged sons came along.  With their youthful exuberance, the boys sometimes impatient with our indolent pace, would sprint ahead, out of sight and miss a crucial turn.  Rudy, the fittest among us, would cheerfully volunteer to speed ahead and retrieve them.  I'll miss him too. Al Brailey.



I had the pleasure of working (and singing!) with Rudy for the first six months of my career and the last 6 months of his at Gundersen.  His beautiful soul and mind will be remembered and missed.  Shalom, friend.



Rudy was a friend, mentor and mentee as I was fortunate to teach him about palliative care and he taught me so much more about both work and life.  As others have said I loved his stories about chorus, cycling, sailing, travel, and family.  We spoke often as palliative care doctors that we were privileged to have so many people invite us into the intimate stories of their lives, and I certainly was privileged that Rudy invited me into his.  I look forward to reading the memoir he wrote of his father.  Shalom my friend.



Rudy will be well remembered by those fortunate people that knew him. He was a great friend, colleague and teacher, and a man of many talents. May he Rest In Peace.



From all I've heard about your father, he was truly a great human being and I would've loved to have met him.



I am so saddened by Rudy's death.  I have so many memories of friendship, and music-making.  Such a gentle soul.
Mary Park Ford,  Friend, Asheville, NC, formerly Lacrosse, WI



Rudy was my colleague at the U of M on the palliative care team. He shared so much of his knowledge with all of us. I also enjoyed hearing about his bicycling adventures; singing performances and his family. My condolences to all of you.



Rudy was my colleague and friend at the Gundersen Clinic for ten years. I had utmost respect for his kindness and knowledge, as did everyone else. While we did not see each other after I left for the Scott and White Clinic in 1983, we had several nice conversations over the phone. What a voice. I will miss him. So long, my dear friend. To his family, my sincere condolence.



It is with great sadness, gratitude and reverence that I write this remembrance of Dr. Keimowitz.
At age 19, now 32 years ago, I was first introduced to Dr. Keimowitz following a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. We would spend the next 2 1/2 years together engaged in efforts to restore my health.
With a deep baritone and melodic voice, I can still hear him say, "I find these symptoms to be rather bothersome." Although stoic and professional in his demeanor and approach to medical care, he was quick to offer a warm and welcoming smile, compassionate and extremely generous with his time and energy.  
Words cannot describe the significant impact Dr. Keimowitz has had on my life or the depth of connection we shared together as we dealt daily with issues of life and death.
My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time and with the many people who were privileged to have interacted with this extraordinary man during his time here with us.



My deepest condolences to the family. Rudy was a great doctor and an even better person. It was always great to talk to him about medicine, about life, and just about any other topic.  His presence here in Minnesota has been greatly missed.



Our sincere sympathy to you and your family.



Stephanie - your father sounds like he was such an amazing, accomplished man who clearly made a positive impact in so many peope's lives. Love and prayers to your family.



It was my privilege to get to know Rudy so well, soon after I joined the Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse in 1984.  I still cherish his and my interactions over the many years there, until he moved on to the Twin Cities.  In both his professionalism and his wonderful personality, he was always a great model for me.



Rudy Keimowitz, you were my second father.  I will never forget your engaging smile, your beautiful baritone voice, your strength, your unshakeable confidence, your friendship, your generosity, your hospitality, your erudition, your athleticism, your humanity, and your concern for a once young hematologist who truly idolized you. How many lessons did I learn from you about taking care of patients? I still try to pattern my practice as a physician after your example! As I come to the end of my career as a doctor, I find that you are the yardstick against which I compare myself, and I fall so very far short of the mark. 

Carol, Stephanie, Genevieve, Joseph, Christine, and Aidan, may the Lord console you and all who mourn Rudy's death.



Rudy was a good friend and a valued colleague. We shared many patients and our love of cycling and classical music; there are many warm memories. His personal concern for the welfare and comfort of patients was always evident, a constant reminder to trainees why it is that we do what we do.



In 1967 I was an 18-year-old graduate of a small secretarial school on a scholarship from Gundersen Clinic.  My first job was as a "float" in several departments but was lucky enough to be chosen for a small pod of 5 internal medicine doctors.  Dr. Keimowitz was one of these doctors.  He was always soft spoken, very thorough (and always running a little late), had the messiest desk but could find what he wanted in a jiffy, kind to and patient with a very young, somewhat naive secretary, always ready to carefully listen to his patients and a thoughtful, helpful colleague to the other doctors in our pod and on that floor of the clinic.  I left the clinic on the day my first daughter was born but kept in touch for a few years.  Such a kind man.  My condolences.    Ellyn Von Wald



Our prayers and deepest sympathy are sent to you Carol, and Jen and Stephanie from Eddie and myself during this very sad time.  I so loved Rudy, as did my Father, Thorolf and Ruth Gundersen, who Rudy took so much time with during his years in La Crosse.  Oh, Rudy was a special and a wonderful man.  He will be deeply missed.



Carol, Gen, Stephanie - I am sorry Rudy is gone. He was an inspiration, and a friend, and I learned so much from him. You are in my thoughts.



Dr Keimowitz treated our daughter's cancer for 2 1/2 difficult years.  She has now been in remission for 32 years. We loved and respected him for his caring manner and for his expertise and knowledge.  A  truly wonderful man has passed.  With grateful hearts for his being part of our lives, and with our deepest condolences for your loss



My thoughts and prayers are offered during this difficult time.



The sadness of the news of Rudy's passing is mixed with the many memories of him at Gundersen in La Crosse.  He was the established hematologist in the Internal Medicine department when I joined it as a very junior colleague in 1971; we were all close in a small office wing. I came to know him as a thoughtful and expert specialist, and later as a colleague and friend. Scattered memories come to mind: there was an enlarged photo he so loved of his father playing with children hanging on the waiting area. We were part of a father-child bike group that took an extended road tour every fall; two photos of Rudy are attached during one of those- he became a real bike enthusiast. I still have the big garden cart he sold us 30 years ago.  I was part of a research project on skin absorption of aspirin he originated and was dedicated to. We enjoyed  attending  his vocal recital -- a phenomenal deep baritone.  I once bought a sailboat he had owned.  Of course, I heard from many of his patients who so  respected him. After he retired from Gundersen and moved to the Twin Cities, I last heard from him as he called to ask me about a sailboat for the small lake near his home.  With all this, it is difficult to realize it is in the past and that all we can do is say farewell and Shalom to a good man.



Stephanie, my deepest sympathy of your father.



My condolences to Carol and the family!  I remember with pleasure the times spent together.



Neighbor, friend, colleague and wonderful, caring physician.  Shalom and Rest In Peace my friend.



I had the honor of working with Dr Keimowitz years ago. He was a great combination of intellect, patience and caring-- I am sorry to hear of his passing.


OBITUARIO

Rudolph Martin Keimowitz

30 agosto, 1935 – 19 octubre, 2016

Weed Corley Fish Funeral Homes and Cremation Services

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