1929
Jewell
2017
Jewell M.D.
July 1, 1929 — October 20, 2017
Jewell L Osterholm, M.D., age 88, of West Brandywine, PA, formerly of Radnor, PA, passed away on October 20, 2017. Born in White Sulfur Springs, MT, he was the son of the John W. and Lauretta Osterholm (nee Guay).
Dr. Osterholm, an ingenious scientist, gifted surgeon and esteemed mentor, laid the foundation for the national prominence that the Department of Neurological Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital enjoys today.
His introduction to medicine started on a smaller scale. As a teenager in the U.S. Army, he found doing urine analyses at a hospital "inspirational". He later turned down a Congressional appointment to West Point.
He earned his degree at Washington University in 1957 and went on to the Montreal Neurologic Institute of McGill University for post graduate training in Neuropathology, Neurology and Neurosurgery. He left for Philadelphia in 1963, joining the Neurosurgery team at Hahnemann Medical College and becoming the Division Chair four years later.
With a large surgical practice and active research program, Dr. Osterholm left Hahnemann to become Chairman of Jefferson's Department of Neurosurgery in 1974. He considers this appointment and developing the department as Chair his greatest achievement.
At Jefferson, Dr. Osterholm gained national prominence as an expert on spinal cord injury. His interest was joined by physicians in rehabilitation medicine and orthopedic surgery, leading to the establishment of the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley. Today, the Center, now affiliated with Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, is one of only 14 in the country to hold the Federal government's highest designation.
Dr. Osterholm built a robust research program at Jefferson. In the late 1970's, his research emphasis shifted from spinal cord trauma to the study of stroke and the relief of cerebral ischemia and cellular anoxia. He holds 75 International and U.S. Patents on a stroke procedure he developed, from which he won "Inventor of the Year" Award from the Intellectual Property Owners Association in 1984.
Throughout Dr. Osterholm's over 20 year tenure as Chairman of Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, patients and fellow physicians came to appreciate him as an empathetic doctor and a master diagnostician. Residents knew him as the consummate surgical-physician. He relished his role as mentor. "Training Residents is a full time effort," he said. "But it is more than rewarded by their enthusiasm and dedication." He considered training young neurosurgeons the "highest intellectual and moral challenge, and the best work I could do."
Dr. Osterholm is survived by his beloved wife, Anne Osterholm (nee Howard), his loving children, Jay Osterholm (Janet Harbour), Linda Wood, Kristine Vaccarelli, and his granddaughter, Kaitlyn Vaccarelli.
Relatives and friends are invited to his Funeral Service, 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at Saint David's Episcopal Church, 763 South Valley Forge, Wayne, PA, followed by his interment in St. David's Episcopal Churchyard.
In lieu of flowers, donations, in his name, may be made to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, www.pva.org.
St. David Episcopal Church
763 S. Valley Forge Road Wayne 19087, United States
Dr. Osterholm, an ingenious scientist, gifted surgeon and esteemed mentor, laid the foundation for the national prominence that the Department of Neurological Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital enjoys today.
His introduction to medicine started on a smaller scale. As a teenager in the U.S. Army, he found doing urine analyses at a hospital "inspirational". He later turned down a Congressional appointment to West Point.
He earned his degree at Washington University in 1957 and went on to the Montreal Neurologic Institute of McGill University for post graduate training in Neuropathology, Neurology and Neurosurgery. He left for Philadelphia in 1963, joining the Neurosurgery team at Hahnemann Medical College and becoming the Division Chair four years later.
With a large surgical practice and active research program, Dr. Osterholm left Hahnemann to become Chairman of Jefferson's Department of Neurosurgery in 1974. He considers this appointment and developing the department as Chair his greatest achievement.
At Jefferson, Dr. Osterholm gained national prominence as an expert on spinal cord injury. His interest was joined by physicians in rehabilitation medicine and orthopedic surgery, leading to the establishment of the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley. Today, the Center, now affiliated with Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, is one of only 14 in the country to hold the Federal government's highest designation.
Dr. Osterholm built a robust research program at Jefferson. In the late 1970's, his research emphasis shifted from spinal cord trauma to the study of stroke and the relief of cerebral ischemia and cellular anoxia. He holds 75 International and U.S. Patents on a stroke procedure he developed, from which he won "Inventor of the Year" Award from the Intellectual Property Owners Association in 1984.
Throughout Dr. Osterholm's over 20 year tenure as Chairman of Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, patients and fellow physicians came to appreciate him as an empathetic doctor and a master diagnostician. Residents knew him as the consummate surgical-physician. He relished his role as mentor. "Training Residents is a full time effort," he said. "But it is more than rewarded by their enthusiasm and dedication." He considered training young neurosurgeons the "highest intellectual and moral challenge, and the best work I could do."
Dr. Osterholm is survived by his beloved wife, Anne Osterholm (nee Howard), his loving children, Jay Osterholm (Janet Harbour), Linda Wood, Kristine Vaccarelli, and his granddaughter, Kaitlyn Vaccarelli.
Relatives and friends are invited to his Funeral Service, 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at Saint David's Episcopal Church, 763 South Valley Forge, Wayne, PA, followed by his interment in St. David's Episcopal Churchyard.
In lieu of flowers, donations, in his name, may be made to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, www.pva.org.
Funeral Service
Saturday, October 28, 2017 2:00 PMSt. David Episcopal Church
763 S. Valley Forge Road Wayne 19087, United States
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