Laurence "Larry" Stempel Obituary (1950 - 2021)

Stempel, M.D., Laurence (Larry) Eric passed away on July 24th, 2021, surrounded by his family, after a hard-fought 4 ½ year battle with cancer. He was born on April 30, 1950, in Oak Park, IL to the late Edward and Faye (Saikin) Stempel. He will be missed by his beloved wife of 49 years, Bette Jo Stempel, sons Brian Michael (Kathryn), Mark Alan (Rebecca), and Kenneth Robert (Jennifer) Stempel, and grandchildren Eli, Evan, Esther, Jacob and Maya Stempel. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Jerrold (Marjorie) Stempel, sister Janee Stempel (Jerome Victor Springman), sister-in-law Myndel (Norman) Pozner and several nieces and nephews. Larry was devoted to providing for his family, making sure his wife, whom he referred to as TLMS (the lovely Mrs. Stempel), was always cared for while he continued to encourage her to grow into the person she has become. One of his favorite sayings was, “It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing,” and doing the “right thing” at all times was an extremely important value in Larry’s life. Education was also paramount for him and for his sons. He always encouraged them to strive to be their best, reaching for goals they might not have achieved without his constant support. Being productive members of our society with values akin to his own was very important to Larry. He made sure they understood the importance of putting their families first, carrying on his values, and “always doing the right thing.” Larry adored his grandchildren, one of the many things that made him fight to survive his illness for longer than anyone ever predicted would be possible. He enjoyed watching them grow and loved doing projects with them, such as opening baseball cards, Little Mermaid and Hello Kitty cards, and Frozen stickers as well as building Lego creations and looking at life from all directions. He was a jokester who often made puns and delighted in getting their reactions, many time hearing Grannndpa! Larry spent his first 5 ½ years growing up in Riverside, IL. He and his family then moved to Northbrook, IL. He graduated from Glenbrook North High School in 1968. He was the valedictorian of his class and also set the school and conference record in the shotput his senior year. After high school, Larry headed for Michigan State University, where he met his beloved wife at a Hillel mixer the first Saturday night of college. They spent the four years of college together and married after graduation. Larry graduated with highest honors with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physiology and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Larry matriculated to Washington University Medical School in St. Louis in 1972, where he graduated second in his class and became a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the honorary medical school society. He enjoyed learning and challenged himself to be the best he could be during his medical school studies. Because of his high achievements while in medical school, he was asked to tutor other medical students, the beginning of his medical teaching career. Following medical school, Larry and his wife moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at The Ohio State University. He was instrumental in bringing Obstetric Ultrasound to the OB department during his third year of residency, becoming an expert in the field while studying with some of the top sonographers in the country. As had happened during his undergraduate and medical days, Larry was recognized many times for his high achievement during his residency and fellowship education. In the evenings during his fellowship years, Larry opened an OB ultrasound practice, scanning patients for many of the obstetricians in the Columbus and surrounding areas as well as gorillas at the Columbus Zoo. The ultrasound practice enabled Larry to open up his own OB/GYN practice in 1982, specializing in caring for women and fetuses with high risk problems. In doing so, he allowed many women who would have been unable to carry a pregnancy to create families of their own. He was involved in delivering over 7,500 babies. No matter how late office hours ran, Larry always took care of his patients’ needs because that was the “right thing” to do. In 2003, he closed his practice in order to devote his career to teaching residents OB Ultrasound and High-Risk Obstetrics at Riverside Methodist, Grant, and Doctor’s Hospitals. He soon realized that his real passion was in educating future physicians to be compassionate, critically thinking, and devoted doctors who will always do the “right thing”. He encouraged them to read and study even after completing their educations. In 2019, Larry was awarded the Baldwin Award for the top staff member at Grant Hospital in recognition of the many years he spent working with obstetric residents and his devotion to his patients. It is the highest honor awarded by the hospital. During his years of teaching, he had many sayings that he shared with his residents. Current and past residents refer to them as “Stempelisms.” They always joked that they were going to publish a book of them. Even after his illness was diagnosed, Larry continued to work with his residents, his other family, while receiving treatment for the cancer and surviving many bumps along the way. One of Larry’s favorite TV shows was Jeopardy, where a bad night was one where he didn’t answer at least 30 questions correctly. Just like Alex Trebek, Larry ended his career days before his death. Being a voracious reader, Larry read books on many topics and has a library containing far more than 5,000 titles. He always considered books to be his friends and thus could never give a book away. His other hobby was collecting sports memorabilia, primarily baseball cards from his childhood years. Larry was an avid baseball fan. He loved the Cubs, especially Ernie Banks, and he passed his love for the Cubs onto his sons and grandchildren. In his free time, he could often be found watching baseball at a Columbus Clippers game, even if just to catch a few innings between delivering babies. He served as the obstetrician for the players’ wives for many years. The family is very grateful for the wonderful care that he received from his oncologist, Dr. Peter Kourlas and from the professionals at Ohio Health Hospice, in particular, his nurse Lisa. Funeral services celebrating Larry’s life will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, July 27th at Huntington Park. (Columbus Clippers’ Stadium). Parking is complimentary in the Brodbelt Lot. For a link to the Zoom please email zoom1@epsteinmemorial.com The service will be followed by burial at the Temple Israel Cemetery. Shiva will take place at 6:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Stempel home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Kobacker House, 800 McConnell Dr, Columbus, OH 43214 or to a charity of your choice. In an effort to keep all of our guests safe and healthy while we mourn, we request that only those vaccinated against COVID-19 attend.