8 minute read
IN MEMORIAM
In Memoriam
ANNIE MARIE SANTOS, MD
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1954-2021
Annie Marie Santos was a loving mother and sister, dedicated physician, and an incredibly generous soul. She passed away suddenly on June 24th, at the age of 67. She was born to Ignacia and Francisco Santos in Hagatna, Guam, on January 19th, 1954, and was one of five children, including Frank, Marie, Tony, and Felix Santos. After losing her parents at a young age, she decided to pursue a career in medicine, starting in Guam, and eventually, Honolulu, Hawaii. In Honolulu, she and her then-husband, Rexford Reynolds, had their only child, Adrienne Santos Reynolds. Shortly thereafter, the three moved to Lodi, California.
It was here where she practiced medicine for the next 29 years, even opening up her own practice, specializing in family medicine and women's health, helping countless mothers in the delivery room, and eventually finding her true passion, hospice care and home health. She was a member of the San Joaquin Medical Society for 26 years.
Annie was vivacious and loved life. She had a special gift for connecting with others and making them feel loved. She loved dancing, spending her time with friends and family, and was a lifelong learner. Her favorite flowers were gladiolas.
She is survived by her daughter, Adrienne, her son-in-law, Brian Holman, Adrienne's father, Rexford Reynolds, and her brother, Frank Santos, his wife Soledad, her niece, Marisa, her nephew, Marcus, and her great-nephew, Niko.
DONALD EUGENE KOBRIN, MD
1936- 2021 Donald Eugene Kobrin, MD passed away peacefully at the age of 84 after battling several medical issues in recent years. Don was a respected neurologist and diagnostician, as well as a skilled debater. He held strong opinions and would love to argue many issues including current events, religion, morality or the best French movies!
Don Attended Roosevelt University in Chicago before studying medicine at the University of Geneva, in Switzerland. He did his internship at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and residencies in neurology at the Cleveland Clinic and UCSF.
He opened his private practice in Stockton in 1974, retiring in 2004. He instituted and chaired the first medical ethics committees at San Joaquin County Hospital, as well as St. Joseph's and Jackson Hospitals. Don was born in Chicago Illinois in 1936. He was a member of the San Joaquin Medical Society for 47 years.
He is survived by his wife Erdmunda Symon. He is preceded in death by his parents Robert Marcus Kobrin and Goldie Nora Gerber. He is also survived by his former wife, Charlene McIntire, and their two sons; Reuben, his wife Zita, and 3 daughters, as well as Joshua and his wife Talia and their daughter. He is survived by his brothers Richard, and Edward and his wife Shirley as well as many nieces and nephews.
In Memoriam
In Memoriam
RICHARD (DICK) EDWIN BALCH, M.D.
1930–2021
Dick Balch, who passed away at the age of 90, was one of a handful of neurosurgeons who served our area. Trained at UCLA, Balch joined Tom Huff and Don Lamond in 1966, working at St. Joseph’s, Dameron and San Joaquin General Hospitals. They were the first trio of neurosurgeons to bring their much-needed skills to our county. Later he went out on his own and recruited Karl Gregorius, a fellow UCLA alum; the two practiced in an office that Balch built at 2209 North California Street. The building has served as the main outpatient center for neurosurgery since the early 1990s.
Balch was an excellent technician, with superb judgment and impeccable medical ethics. Gregorius, his partner for thirteen years, calls him an exemplary model of integrity and skill. Among Balch’s contributions to San Joaquin Neurosurgery was his special interest in acoustic neuromas, a tumor rarely treated in a community setting. In this endeavor, Balch collaborated with his good friend Bill Hambly, an ENT surgeon. Together they set up an anatomy lab where they refined the skills that they then applied in the operating room.
Balch trained under Eugene Stern, the founder of the Neurosurgery training program at UCLA and its legendary chief. Gregorius recounts how Balch, during his residency, taught Stern how to perform the anterior cervical discectomy, a procedure that in those days was new and risky. Those who knew Stern find it hard to imagine how such a role switch could have happened.
Stern taught his residents that neurosurgeons were primarily neurologists (the residency required an entire year of neurology), and that morality was the most important basis of neurosurgical practice. Balch exemplified those ideals. In addition to his surgical skill, he was a gifted clinical neurologist and an extremely modest, moral person.
After his retirement in 1991 at age 60, Balch spent three decades in California’s Sea Ranch and Gualala communities. There he volunteered his carpentry skills for the restoration of the historic barn where the Sea Ranch Thespians perform, and for the building of the Gualala Art Center. He was an avid supporter of environmental conservation and enjoyed numerous backpacking trips to the Sierras.
Balch was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1930. He was the oldest son of Harry Balch, a physician, and Phoebe (Gift) Balch, a nurse. His brother, Michael, followed fourteen months later. The boys initially enjoyed a rural lifestyle, growing up in Stirling City (Butte County), California, where their father was the only physician in town. During World War II, Harry Balch was stationed in the
historic Vancouver Barracks in Washington State.
After the war the family settled in Costa Mesa, California, where Balch graduated from high school. He served in the US Coast Guard as an electronics technician for three years during the Korean War, beginning in 1950. While stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, he met his first wife, Mary Jo (Hamrick) Balch a schoolteacher. They were married for twenty-six years and raised four children before breast cancer claimed her. His second wife, Marilynn (Dittbrener) Balch, was a friend of Mary Jo’s and helped care for her in her final days. The Assistant Director of Nursing at St. Joseph’s at the time, Marilynn had been a nun in the Dominican Order before marrying Balch. She survives him after many happy years together.
Following discharge from the Coast Guard, Balch completed premedical studies at UC Berkeley and medical school at USC. He first came to San Joaquin County as a surgical intern under Bill Brock, who subsequently recommended him to his old UCSF colleague, Eugene Stern, for neurosurgical residency. After completing his residency, Balch returned to Stockton for his career as an attending neurosurgeon.
In addition to his wife Marilynn, Balch is survived by his four children from his first marriage: Susan Harrington of Aptos, CA; Steven Balch of Santa Rosa, CA; Daniel Balch of Colorado Springs, CO; and James Balch of Stockton, CA, as well as ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Dick Balch was an unassuming, no-nonsense person with a lively, dry – sometimes biting – sense of humor. He got directly to the point in any conversation. Well-read and knowledgeable in any number of topics, Balch brewed his own beer and was skilled in carpentry and woodworking. Ulrich Batzdorf, neurosurgeon, close friend and fellow resident at UCLA, who hosted Balch’s retirement party in 1990, characterized his friend as “a common man with uncommon common sense.” The attribute fits Richard E. Balch perfectly.
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In Memoriam
In Memoriam
ROBERT LILIENSTEIN, MD
1928-2021
Robert Wolfgang Lilienstein, age 93, passed away peacefully at home on June 30, 2021. A native of Hamburg, Germany, Robert was born Wolfgang Lilienstein on March 8, 1928 to Isidor and Hilde (Stern). He came to New York City with his parents in 1936 to escape Nazi Germany and immediately became a New Yorker. He fondly remembered each place he lived in the city, friends he had, bakeries and delis he frequented, and that his first job was shining shoes outside of the subway in 1940. He was a proud graduate of The Bronx High School of Science (1946). He served 2 years in the US Navy on the USS Missouri before attending New York University and The Chicago Medical School (1955). He married Henrietta “Honey” Robinson on October 27, 1956 in Yonkers, New York and they were married for 60 years.
He completed his internship at Los Angeles County Hospital and his residency at San Luis Obispo County Hospital before completing an anesthesia residency at UCSF. They moved to Stockton, California in 1962 where they raised their 4 children. He was a practicing Anesthesiologist with Stockton Anesthesia Medical Group for over 30 years and spent some time as Chair of the Anesthesia Department of St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was a member of the San Joaquin Medical Society for 52 years.
He was known for his dedication to his job and was passionate about the art and science of his profession, spending free time reading medical journals and anesthesia articles. He enjoyed family trips to Silver Lake, skiing, and spending time with family on the boats that he owned over the years. He and Honey were members of Temple Israel of Stockton for over 59 years and enjoyed extensive world-wide travel in retirement. Robert is survived by his four children, Joanne (Steve), Frieda (Ross), Peter (Lynette), and David (Sandy), ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Isidor Theo and Hilde Johana Lillienstein, his sister Ruth (Lilienstein) Liepman, his brother, Manfred Lilienstein, and his wife, Henrietta “Honey” (Robinson) Lilienstein. The family wishes to thank the staff of Community Hospice and the caregivers of Visiting Angels for their thoughtful service and tender care over the past 4 years. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Community Hospice.
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