As Medical Director, Frank started the X-Ray conferences at HAS which are still so powerful today. One of the great things about him was his unending enthusiasm. After a particular surgical procedure was successfully performed at HAS, I well remember him backing my husband, Art, against the wall of one of the corridors, leaning in and saying “Isn’t it wonderful, we are the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Caribbean!” He showed the same enthusiasm on the tennis court and in many other endeavors.
“Do the best you can do where you are and be kind.” These are his words and the wisdom by which Frank J. Lepreau led his long, extraordinary life. He was an extraordinary individual, following in the footsteps of many and standing in the shadow of few. Born to Frank James and Marion Lepreau in Oak Park, IL on October 6, 1912, Dr. Lepreau died in his sleep in the comfort of his own home in Westport, MA on January 25, 2012.
Following graduation from Harvard Medical School (Class ʼ38) Dr. Lepreau did an internship in Pathology at the Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, N.H. It is there that he met his future wife Miriam (Monny) Barwood, a Wellesley grad from Hanover who worked at the time in an adjacent lab as a technician. They married in 1939. She was the love of his life. They raised five children and were married 54 years before her death in 1994.
It was at the Truesdale Clinic and Hospital in Fall River, MA starting in 1948 and continuing for sixteen years that Dr. Lepreau enjoyed a busy surgical practice and professional collegiality under the mentorship of his “hero” Dr. Charles Atwood. In the latter years of that period he became influenced by the work of Albert Schweitzer In Lambarene, leading him to seek to be of service elsewhere in the world. Dr. Lepreau spent two months at the Friends Africa Mission Hospital in Kaimosi, Kenya in 1961, but the community was not the right fit for him and his family. Through close friends he learned of Larry and Gwen Mellonʼs work at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, becoming the hospitalʼs Medical Director and head of surgery from 1964-1973. He counted that experience as the most satisfying of his life both personally and professionally.
Dr. Lepreau maintained his youthful spirit throughout his life through his genuine interest in and connection to individuals considerably younger than himself, including his children and grandchildren “picking their brains,” soaking up all that they knew, interested in their thoughts and ideas. He aways appreciated the working relationships he had with colleagues at HAS such as Miss Pete, Dr. Florence “Skeets” Marshall, Dr. Mueller Garnier, and Dr. Gerard Frederique among many others, but he particularly thrived on the opportunity to mentor young physicians. For these many years he would continually celebrate three physicians from his years at HAS who he believed were of exemplary skill and character: surgeons Steve Stein and Mike Curci along with Ken Davison – who came to HAS as a dentist but learned of his entrance into medical school while on the tennis court at HAS and became a well respected anesthesiologist.
Dr. Lepreauʼs life was exemplified most succinctly by the Quaker proverb “Let Your Life Speak.” His frequently spoken words reflected the value he gave to the time we are given in this life: “CARPE DIEM, CARPE DIEM.”
A memorial service for Dr. Frank Lepreau will be held on Saturday April 14, 2012 at 1:00pm in the Westport Friends Meetinghouse, 938 Main Road, Westport, MA.
-Submitted by Mimi Lepreau Jose
Reflections and Tributes
Frank Lepreau taught me more in 6 months than all of the faculty at Yale did in 5 years! All of us who were participants in that great experiment loved him. He didn’t teach with words or lectures, but with deeds. He taught us to take care of our patients 24/7, to subordinate our own needs to theirs, to use our mistakes as a learning tool so that others would benefit and to never, ever give up in the pursuit of excellence. His impact on my career is inestimable. And the wonderful thing about surgery is that as the director of two university training programs I have graduated more than 100 board certified surgeons. Each of them has learned from me at least some of what Frank taught me more than 40 years ago. What a legacy!
-Ralph S. Greco, M.D.
For those of us who worked as residents under Dr. Lepreau’s supervision, Ralph Greco has said it all. Frank’s expertise in the operating room and his care of patients in the hospital left a lasting professional impression while such things as the tennis court, the many parties in Kay 7, and in his devoted work with nursing home patients in his later years displayed his humanity and love of life. A sad loss indeed but a life to be remembered and celebrated.
-John Judson
I feel extremely fortunate to have trained under Frank Lepreau. We all need role models in our lives, and for me, Frank was just that. He was a master at the craft and the art of surgery. He taught us that you didn’t need a lot of fancy tests to take good care of patients. You needed to be meticulous with your technique, available 24/7, and above all, to care about the patient. We need more Frank Lepreaus in Medicine today.
-Stephen Stein, MD
As Medical Director and Chief of Surgery during the late 60’s and early 70’s. His reports to the Board were like lectures in philosophy including quotes from the likes of Shakespeare, Mark Twain and Hemingway in reporting on operating room procedures. There was never a dull meeting when Frank participated. He was one of the most interesting, engaging, remarkable men I have ever known.
-Bill Simpson
I recall that almost any time we heard from Frank, we benefited from his wise counsel to Be Present. It seems simple, but not the way Frank asked us to be. To be present means to be actively engaged in any interaction, be it a personal conversation, a patient consultation or a meeting. He encouraged us to be active listeners and constructive participants in any dialogue. He encouraged us to be sensitive to the emotional quotient of a discussion and to be aware of the sensitivities of other participants. And he encouraged us to respond to the needs and concerns which were expressed, overtly or covertly, by others. Our physical presence, Frank knew, was not relevant. Only our humanistic engagement was. And that is why so many of us recall so vividly every interaction which we have had with him.
-Ian Rawson
Dr. Frank Lepreau is a legend for everyone serving at HAS at any time. Raphaela and I possibly only met him once at an Alumni meeting. But many of you and others told us the story of his wonderful work and commitment at HAS and for HAS. We will keep him in our hearts.
-Rolf and Raphaela Maibach
As Medical Director, Frank started the X-Ray conferences at HAS which are still so powerful today. One of the great things about him was his unending enthusiasm. After a particular surgical procedure was successfully performed at HAS, I well remember him backing my husband, Art, against the wall of one of the corridors, leaning in and saying “Isn’t it wonderful, we are the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Caribbean!” He showed the same enthusiasm on the tennis court and in many other endeavors.
–Renee Bergner, MD
Although our paths did not cross in Deschapelles, I had the good fortune of learning to know Frank at Alumni Reunions and in personal visits in his home in Westport, Ma. when traveling for HAS in the northeast. I had the opportunity to see an additional side of Frank. In one instance, after an early meeting in his home we went out for breakfast, taking a table in a small, but busy market/café in his hometown. It turned out to be a lengthy breakfast because many of his neighbors and friends stopped at our table to greet Frank, and then to share bits of local news. The respect and love for Frank was evident from the warm way he was treated by his neighbors. Yes, Frank was loved by his neighbors and friends, just as he was loved in Deschsapelles. The world, and each of us, are richer for the experience we had in knowing Frank.
–Bill Dunn