Herbert Derman MD

May 22, 1921 - December 18, 2019

Herbert Derman, MD, intellectually curious patriarch died on December 18, 2019 in Philadelphia seeking a remedy to his chronic heart failure. After a lifetime of scientific endeavors, professional leadership, world travels, and teaching, he lived independently at Cathedral Village, Philadelphia for the last five years. He maintained his life long passion for photography in spite of losing sight in one eye causing him to stop playing tennis at age ninety-two. Dr. Derman continued tending his Bonsai and roses. He served as an extraordinary connector with nieces, nephews, grandchildren and cousins via email and his ancestry research, long before Ancestry.com and computer research. He developed lifelong friends throughout the world and maintained the connections with their children through the decades. Dr. Derman was born May 22, 1921 in Brooklyn, NY. He was the youngest son of Isador and Lillian (Schwartzberg) Derman, joining two brothers and a sister. Dr. Derman is survived by three daughters; Jane Derman, Cape Cod; Ellyn Derman, Santa Fe; Letty Thall (Bruce), Philadelphia; six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren from his marriage to Mary Coughlin Derman. They divorced in 1978 and Mary died in 1982. He gained another daughter, Terry Knudsen (Keith), Atlanta, two grandsons, and three great grandchildren from his marriage to Gertrude Rahmstorf Felsen. She died in 2014. He retired in 1990 as the Director of Pathology at Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. He served as the Director of the City of Kingston Laboratory and chief pathologist for the two local hospitals in Kingston, NY from 1950-1976. Dr. Derman also held faculty positions at Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY and Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio. At age sixteen he graduated from Erasmus Hall High School and left Brooklyn, NY for Louisiana State University, graduating in 1943 with a MD. He served two years in the Army Medical Corps, discharged as Captain in 1946. He completed his internship at the US Marine Hospital, Staten Island, NY and his residency at Veteran's Hospital, New Orleans, LA. He then spent a year as Assistant Pathologist at Maimonides Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Derman served as a health consultant to hospitals, laboratories, state health departments corporations, and countries. He established quality control standards for clinical laboratories and blood banks on state and national levels. His professional interests included laboratory systems, quality assurance, professional relations, and data processing. He received many awards for his professional leadership and authored thirty-two published medical articles. Dr. Derman was a leader in many state, national, and international professional associations. From 1960-1996 he held leadership positions in the College of American Pathologists, including serving as President. His political savvy and vision established a lobbying office in Washington, DC to elevate the pathologists' voice. He had a lifetime of civic engagement. Dr. Derman served on community boards in Kingston, NY. He proudly served as Captain of Wexford Tennis Club' s Super Senior team and volunteered in medical and legal clinics in Hilton Head, SC. A Celebration of Dr. Derman's life will be held at Cathedral Hall, Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia, PA 19128, on April 17, 2020 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Contributions in Dr. Derman's name may be made to either: Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., P.O. Box 97166, Washington, DC 20090-7166, Phone: 800-430-4907 and www.planned parenthood.org., or LSU Foundation, 3796 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, Phone: 800-452-7928 and www.lsufoundation.org. Interment private. Condolences may also be sent to www.dinanfuneralhome.com