In Memoriam

Abstract

D r Jan Leestma died on December 7, 2020, shortly after turning 82 and accomplishing one of the most remarkable medical professional careers of modern times. A native of Michigan, of traditional Dutch ancestry that nurtured dedication and persistence through hard work, Dr Leestma's milestones included Hope College in Holland, Michigan, followed by an MD degree from the University of Michigan in 1964. Jan furthered his professional upbringing by specializing in anatomic pathology and neuropathology at the University of Colorado in Denver and completing his neuropathology fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1968. Dr Leestma served with the US Medical Corps at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC, with honorable discharge in 1971 when he joined the faculty at the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and served in the capacity of an associate professor of pathology and neuropathology and chief of neuropathology at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and at the Children's Memorial Hospitals in Chicago. During his tenure at Northwestern University Medical School, Jan was also a guest researcher at Huddings University Hospital (Karolinska Institut) in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1981/1982. Dr Leestma also managed to complete his master's degree in Executive Manager's Program at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School in 1986.Dr Leestma contemporaneously served as a consulting neuropathologist, assistant medical examiner at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, as well as a consultant to the Institute of Forensic Sciences in San Juan, Puerto Rico; a professor of pathology and neurology and an associate dean, Division of Biological Sciences,