Arnold L. Widen MD

Arnie believed in the dignity of all people and dedicated his career to the delivery of quality healthcare as a basic human right.

He graduated from Northwestern University and Feinberg School of Medicine, where he also served on the faculty. He was a physician in the US Army and then joined the staff of Evanston Hospital. He established a thriving private practice before founding NorthCare, the first federally-qualified prepaid comprehensive HMO in Illinois. He was Chief Medical Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, then served under Attorney General Lisa Madigan as Medical Director. He also brought his passion to the creation of Community Health, where he supervised medical residents from Northwestern University and served as President of the Board for two terms. He touched countless lives through volunteering his time to Community Health and was instrumental to its development into the largest free clinic in the US.

Among his many honors and awards, he was most proud of being made a Master of the American College of Physicians, and for receiving the Asclepius Award from the Anti-Defamation League and the Russe Award for Exemplary Compassion in Health Care. He led the Medical Directors Group of the Group Health Association of America and was the Executive Director of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago.

Arnie was a member of the founding Board of Directors of Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago. Among the organizations he loyally supported are Physicians for a National Health Program, Sierra Club, WFMT, Door County Land Trust, and Midsummer’s Music in Door County, Wisconsin.

Arnie is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Judith, former wife Helen, daughters Claire (Dan and Lisa) and Jeanne (Rodolfo), sons Mark and Brent (Sabine), stepsons Chris (Jodi) and Gavin (Stella), and proudly, fifteen grandchildren: Tanya, Carolyn, Jack, Samuel, Shalev, Asher, Remez, Sofia, Isabel, Sebastian, Katarina, Hunter, Jordan, Alex, and Mariel. He also welcomed the birth of two great grandchildren, Amelia and Zoe, in June, 2021.

A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, May 2 at Rosehill Cemetery 5800 N Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60660, followed by a reception at the home of Jeanne Widen at 810 Colfax Street, Evanston. A memorial service will be held later in the summer. For funeral information, please call 847-256-5700.