Leonard L. Kishner, M.D.

Leonard L. Kishner, M.D., died Monday, February 10, 2014. Born March 20, 1919, in Milwaukee, WI, he was the second of two children of Louis Kishner (of Manchester, England) and Ethel Silber Kishner (of Austria). His brother Karel died tragically at age eleven before the antibiotic era. Len grew up and attended school in Milwaukee where he became a member of the National Honor Society at Custer High School, graduating in 1936. His pre-med studies earned him a B.S. Degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1940. During the course of medical school, Len married the love of his life, his partner for nearly 71 years, Blanche Swanson. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine degree at Marquette (now the University of Wisconsin College of Medicine) in 1946. Following a 15-month rotating internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Kishner completed a three-year pediatric residency, also at Michael Reese. Len's family, then with three children, moved to Tulsa where he joined the pediatric practice of Dr. Herschel Rubin in 1950. In 1954, now with a fourth child, the Kishners moved to San Diego when Len was called into the United States Navy during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged as Lieutenant Commander in 1956. Resuming practice in Tulsa in 1956, what began as a solo practice grew to become the Associated Pediatricians of Tulsa, a group in which he treated generations of young Tulsans. In addition to being in private practice for 38 years, Dr. Kishner served as the Tulsa Public Schools' Director of School Health for 25 years. He had specialty training in learning disabilities and a passion for helping children with such problems. He was also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health for ten years, visiting and evaluating city school health installations across the country. Following his retirement from private practice in 1988, he began to work and teach at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine where he received the William Klingberg Award for teaching. He continued to see private learning disability patients and to assist other pediatricians in their practices until 2008. In his retirement years, Len was the violinist for the Tulsa Klezmer Band, volunteered at Marshall Elementary School and as a Big Brother, and gave generously of his time and talents to his Temple Israel Family, serving as Chair of the Music & Choir Committee, Chair of the Library Committee, and as a Trustee of the Board. He was given Temple Israel's highest award, the Amudim (Pillars of the Temple) Award, in 2002, in recognition of his long-term dedication. Though medicine was at the core of his being, Len immensely enjoyed golf, tending the Williamsburg-style home which he and Blanche designed and lived in for 40 years, their world travels together, family vacations, continuing education, music, and, above all, his growing family. Dr. Kishner was predeceased by his devoted Blanche in 2013. He is survived and lovingly remembered by daughters Jeanne Jacobs, Peg Kishner and husband Jim Brennan; son Tom Kishner and wife Judy Zarrow Kishner – all of Tulsa; and daughter Nancy Getty, of Los Angeles, CA, as well as 28 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren; also by sister- and brother-in-law Jeanette and Hobie Weisman, brother-in-law Bob Honeyager, and many nieces, nephews and their progeny. Contributions in Dr. Kishner's memory may be made to the Music & Choir Fund at Temple Israel, to the Medical College of Wisconsin, or to the O.U. Medical School Department of Pediatrics. Funeral Services will be Wednesday, 2:00 p.m., at Temple Israel, with interment following at Rose Hill Memorial Park. FITZGERALD IVY CHAPEL, 918-585-1151.

Leonard L. Kishner, M.D.

March 20, 1919 - February 10, 2014