Dr. Jerome Liebman MD

To view this service please navigate to: https://youtu.be/uD14mkKJxso Obituary of Jerome Liebman, M.D. Cleveland, OH Jerome (“Jerry”) Liebman, of Cleveland, Ohio, died on September 8, 2016, after a long struggle from congestive heart failure. Dr. Liebman made many contributions to the field of pediatric cardiology at University Hospitals and was active in a variety of academic and political organizations. He was born April 7, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish immigrant family and grew up in Brooklyn, New Bedford, and Poughkeepsie, graduating from Poughkeepsie HS in 1944, where he thrived academically, made lasting friendships, and acquired many of his long-lasting liberal political views. After high school, he was accepted into the Army A-12 program where he studied at City College of New York. Jerry graduated from the University of Pennsylvania through the GI-bill in 1949 and then enrolled in a dual dental and medical program at Harvard University. Early on in medical school, Jerry developed a love for pediatrics and then an interest in pediatric cardiology. While working at Beth Israel Hospital during his last year of medical school, he met Judith Citron from Middletown, CT. He graduated from Medical School in 1955 and immediately left for Cleveland to be an intern at Babies and Children’s Hospital. In the fall of 1955, he and Judith married. A year later they returned to Boston so Jerry could train under Dr. Alex Nadas in pediatric cardiology at Boston Children’s Hospital. In 1960 they made their final move back to Cleveland where Jerry began the first pediatric cardiology program in Northeast Ohio. In Cleveland, at what is now University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Jerry made his mark in three areas: teaching, clinical practice, and research. He was instrumental in developing the medical curriculum at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Medical School, which emphasized more integrated learning and later became a model for other programs. He earned a Masters in Medical Education in 1975. He trained hundreds of students and residents in the science and art of pediatric cardiology. In 1977, he received the Kaiser Permanente Award for Teaching Excellence. He was known for his bedside manner, helping families with critically ill children deal with emotional as well as medical issues. He was an expert with the stethoscope, picking up heart murmurs, and was a pioneer in cardiac catheterizations. He was quoted in the Cleveland Jewish News in 2006 as saying, “the best diagnostic tools are still the head, the hands, and the stethoscope.” His most lasting legacy is that he saved the lives of hundreds of children suffering from congenital heart disease. In 1985, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children celebrated his 25 years with an event that inaugurated the series of lectures and a pediatric cardiology center in his name. Dr. Liebman conducted basic and clinical research in electrocardiography and, with collaborators in engineering, helped develop a new tool called body surface mapping. He treated medicine as a science. His many academic contributions focused on case studies correlating EKG’s with the physical observations of heart function. He reached full professor at CWRU School of Medicine in 1972, and in 2005 was granted Professor Emeritus. He held leadership positions at numerous organizations including the International Society of Electrocardiology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which granted him the Founders Award from the Section on Cardiology in 1998. He was able to travel the world, often going to conferences with his wife, Judy. This included the International Congress on Electrocardiology, which he organized for Cleveland to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the founding of Cleveland, OH in 1996. He also promoted collaboration more locally; over 40 years ago he helped found ODICH, Ohio Doctors Interested in Congenital Hearts. Jerry grew up in a family that was interested in playing and watching sports, a love he shared with his wife and children. He was a devoted baseball fan of the New York and San Francisco Giants, the New York Football Giants, the Knicks, the Indians, the Browns and the Cavs. Some of his greatest memories were seeing Willie Mays’ first hit at the Polo Grounds, and watching tennis at the US Open in New York. He was a great athlete himself, excelling in baseball, basketball, ping-pong, and tennis. Playing sports with his older brother Bill, and later in the Army and his family, he learned to make the most of his abilities. Jerry was an unabashed liberal democrat. While training as a pediatrician, he saw many economic injustices. One of the cornerstones of his liberalism was his strong belief in affordable health care. He wrote the single payer policy for the Americans for Democratic Action, and he was also active in Physicians for a National Health Program and a variety of local, state-wide, and national campaigns. With Judy, he fought against racial discrimination in Cleveland and Cleveland Heights as well as for funding of public schools. Most recently, he participated in the social action committee at Fairmount Temple in Beachwood, OH, and Greater Cleveland Congregations. Jerry was also very interested in music of all kinds, especially classical music. Some of his fondest memories were going to the Boston Symphony while in high school. He became a subscriber to the Cleveland Orchestra and for several years was the program chair of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society. Jerry made lasting friendships at every stage in his life: at Poughkeepsie High School, at Harvard, as a Pediatric Cardiology Fellow in Boston, at University Hospitals and in his political activities. He was a very loyal person and maintained these friendships throughout his life. In 1960, Dr. Liebman settled in Cleveland Heights and, with Judy, raised four children: Joanne, Matthew, Laura, and Amy. In 1993, they moved to South Euclid and then in 2014 to Judson Manor. He shared his love of education, sports, travel, and music with his family, leading them on trips throughout the US and Canada, and later to Sanibel, FL, where he loved to coordinate family reunions. He is survived by his brothers, Bill Liebman of Glastonbury, CN, and Aaron Lieberman of Long Valley, NJ; four children and their spouses, Joanne and Charles of Little Rock, AR, Matt and Amy of Acton, MA, Laura of Riverdale, NY, and Amy and Chris of Bethesda, MD; grandchildren Cameron and Jared Matson, Sarah Liebman, Danil Liebman, Kathryn, Kelly, and James Waychoff; and numerous nieces and nephews. The Liebman family wishes to thank the organization and staff of Kendall at Home, Judson Manor, and Hospice of the Western Reserve for their loving assistance, especially Katie Tipton, Romona Arrington, Shirley Jones, Michael, and Erin. Contributions are suggested to the Division of Pediatric Cardiology Liebman Fund, c/o Amy Einhorn, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, MCCO 5062, Cleveland, Ohio 44106; or to the Americans for Democratic Action Education Fund at 1629 K Street NW Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 (or online). . . ============================================== DR. JEROME "JERRY" LIEBMAN, MD, age 89, died September 8, 2016. World War II Army veteran, long-time pediatric cardiologist at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University Medical School. Be­lov­ed hus­band of Judith Liebman (nee Citron); devoted father of Joanne (Charles) Matson of Little Rock, AR, Matthew (Amy Michelson) Liebman of Acton, MA, Laura Liebman of Riverdale, NY and Amy (Chris) Waychoff of Bethesda, MD; loving grandfather of Cameron and Jared Matson, Sarah Liebman, Danil Liebman, Kathryn, Kelly and James Waychoff; dear brother of William Liebman of CT and Aaron "Arnie" (Valerie) Lieberman of NJ. Funeral services will be held at Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 23737 Fairmount Blvd., Beachwood, OH on Sunday, September 11 at 2 PM. Interment Mayfield Cemetery. The family will receive friends FOLLOW­ING INTER­MENT SUN­DAY UNTIL 8 PM AND MONDAY FROM 2 TO 4 PM AND 6 TO 8 PM ONLY at the residence of Judith Liebman at Judson Manor, 1890 E 107th St., Cleveland, OH 44106. Contributions are suggested to the Division of Pediatric Cardiology Liebman Fund, c/o Amy Einhorn, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, 11100 Euclid Avenue, MCCO 5062, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. Arrangements Through BERKOWITZ-KUMIN-BOOKATZ Memorial Chapel (216) 932-7900