BROOKLINE, Mass. – Dr. Leonard S. Gottlieb, formerly of Lewiston and son of the late Dr. Juluis and Jeanette Gottlieb of Lewiston, passed away at his Brookline, Mass., home on Dec. 7.

Len bore his myriad of illnesses with dignity and courage for over a decade, during which, undeterred by repeated setbacks, he continued to be a force in the Boston medical community and in the life of his loving family.

And what a force he was.

He was the director of the Mallory Institute of Pathology from 1972-2004, Chairman Emeritus and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine 1980-2004, and a member of the senior leadership of the Boston Medical Center and its predecessor institutions during the past 30 years. In 1986, he founded the Louis and Charlotte Kaitz Boston University School of Medicine – Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School Student Exchange Program, and has been its director ever since. A passionate advocate for the State of Israel, this commitment was recognized by a lifetime achievement award from the American Friends of Hebrew University in 2000, and the Lewis H. Millender Community of Excellence Award by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies in 2005.

Dr. Gottlieb’s career at Boston University Medical Center was distinguished by academic and clinical leadership and he published over 180 articles, abstracts and book chapters dealing with diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

Len lived a full and long life, but he never grew old. He reveled in his growing family and his many friends.

He was a bear when it came to his professional life, but a gentle giant with family and friends.

He was an extraordinary brother, and his wise council, gentle prodding and especially his loving words provided me with some of the most memorable remembrances and moments of my life. He was my lifelong best friend.

He was a graduate of Lewiston High School, Bowdoin College, Tuft’s University School of Medicine and Harvard’s Graduate School of Public Health.

Len is survived by his loving wife, Dorothy; a daughter, Julie; sons, William and wife, Roberta, Andrew and wife, Valerie; a brother, Burton of Auburn; and seven grandchildren.

So beloved brother, your journey is now over, but you will live on in the collective memories of your family and friends and in the contributions to mankind and society already made by you, and yet to be made by your many students.

I bring to you, Len, once again the familiar Hebrew expression that bridges our collective Jewish memory and our Jewish history – “Shalom Aleichem” and I know that somehow you return my words with your own “Aleichem Shalom” to all of us who mourn and will always miss you.

Shalom, dear brother, Shalom.