Obituaries

Stanley Hoppenfeld, MD
July 31, 1934 - May 15, 2020

The SRS recently lost an academic icon in Dr. Stanley Hoppenfeld. He was a member of our society since 1971 and was an Emeritus member at his death.

He was born (July 31, 1934), raised and died (May 15, 2020) in New Yok City. His marriage to his wife Norma produced 3 sons. He received his undergraduate education at Hobart College (1955), medical education at the Chicago Medical School (1959), and orthopaedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Joint Diseases (1964). This was followed by the Frauenthal Orthopaedic Traveling Fellowship were he visited numerous international spine programs over the course of 2 years. He subsequently spent 2 years as an orthopaedic surgeon in the United States Army (1966-1968) and then became a member of the faculty at Bronx Municipal Hospital and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He then started his private practice, Scoliosis Associates, in which he practiced until his retirement in 1999, although he continued to perform surgery at Albert Einstein.

Academically he was a member not only of the SRS but the AAOS, AOA, the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons as well as an honorary member of the British Scoliosis Society. Throughout his career he was clinically and academically productive. He published 14 peer-reviewed studies but is best known for authoring 7 textbooks on musculoskeletal disorders. These are still well-known to medical students and residents today. Examples include the “Surgical Exposure in Orthopaedics. The Anatomical Approach”, one of the all-time best selling textbooks that was translated into numerous languages, “Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities” and “Orthopaedic Neurology. A Diagnostic Guide to Neurologic Levels”. Most these underwent several editions. For his efforts he received numerous scholarly and academic awards. He was appreciated by residents, medical students and allied health professionals for his abilities as an educator and in distilling sophisticated concepts into their most basic elements

The SRS values his life and his contributions to our specialty. He will be missed.

Respectfully submitted,
George H. Thompson, MD
SRS Historian

John M. Roberts, MD
February 27, 1932 - August 8, 2020

The SRS also lost another icon last month in Dr. John Roberts. He joined the SRS in 1977 and was also an Emeritus Member at his death.

Dr. Roberts was born February 27, 1932 and died on August 8, 2020. He had been married to his wife Edith (Rusty) for 43 years. They were very proud their 2 children and 5 grandchildren. He received his undergraduate education from Yale University (1953) and his Doctor of Medicine from the Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons (1957). His Orthopaedic training was at Duke University. He went on to have a very academically productive pediatric orthopaedic surgery and scoliosis career. He held numerous academic positions including being Chief of Staff at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, Massachusetts and chief of pediatric orthopaedics at Louisiana State University, Tulane University, Brown University and Boston University. He was one of the Founders of the New Orleans Children’s Hospital where they continue to hold an annual Dr. John Roberts Visiting Professorship. In Springfield there is the John M. Roberts Teaching Center. During his career he served on the Board of Directors of the AAOS (1972-1973), he was the first President of POSNA (1983-1984) when the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society merged with the Pediatric Orthopaedic Study Group, served as chair of the Council of Musculoskeletal Specialty Societies (1987-1989), and was Vice-President of the AOA (1996-1997). He published 17 peer-reviewed studies, most on spinal deformity. Dr. Roberts retired in 1999.

Respectfully submitted,
George H. Thompson, MD
SRS Historian