I had lunch over at my father-in-law’s house this weekend.  

For those of you who live in Denver, you may know him-Dr. Stuart Gottesfeld, or just “Stuart.”  He’s been around for a while. In fact, our family just went on a big trip together to celebrate his 75th birthday. He’s now retired from his OB/GYN practice, but Marshall and I will still go to him to discuss an interesting case with him, or pick his brain about some diagnostic dilemma.  

I remember when I started residency in 1992. My first rotation was at Rose Hospital and it seemed liked every five minutes there was an overhead page for “Dr. Stuart Gottesfeld, Dr. Stuart Gottesfeld.”

Who was this guy?  

I came to learn that there was a resident at the time with the last name Gottesfeld, and when I met him, I said, “Hi Stuart.”

He laughed at me.

Well, that was Marshall, my future husband and the pages were for his father, a pillar of the Rose medical community.

It started in the mid-1930’s, when Dr. M. Ray Gottesfeld (reward for anyone out there who can tell me what the “M” stands for!) opened his practice in Denver.  

M. Ray had 3 sons who became OB/GYN physicians and one daughter, who became a lawyer—go figure.  

Dr. Ken Gottesfeld was famous for his pioneering role in the use of ultrasound, and his wonderful bedside manner.  He died tragically in a ski accident many years ago, and he is still deeply missed by many.  I never met Ken.  

Ray (or “Doc”), the youngest, went into Reproductive Endocrinology and I had the honor and pleasure of operating with him when I was a resident.  

Then there was Stuart. I would say Stuart is best known for the sheer volume of babies he has delivered in Denver over the years.  He is also known for his incredible surgical skills, and for being an amazingly kind and generous teacher.

Over many years, Chief Residents at University of Colorado in OB/GYN would spend their Saturdays operating with Stuart.  Stuart had a lot of patients, so he did a lot of surgery.  He was experienced, and had such incredible patience with his students.  I will never forget my Saturdays with Stuart.  He was so complimentary in his style and we all knew that Stuart could make anyone look good as a surgeon.  Everyone loved to operate with Stuart.  Now, many of us who were trained in Denver do our hysterectomies “Stuart’s way.”

Of course, things have changed since Stuart was in practice.  Now, many conditions that used to require hysterectomy are treated in other ways—with medications, or less invasive surgical treatments.  But Stuart still meets with the residents most mornings at 7 a.m. to discuss cases. He’s still the expert in all things OB/GYN.  

None of us who trained with Stuart will forget the time he gave to us, the patience with which he taught us, or the meticulous surgical technique that made him so great and made us look so good.  That will never change.

I see a lot of patients now who have picked my name out of the list of doctors because they recognize the name Gottesfeld.  Many have seen my father-in-law in the past.  They sit down on the exam table, and before they even say a word, I can tell what they are going to ask:  “Are you related to....?”