 DECEMBER 24 • 2020 | 15

“My mom would roll in her grave 
if she knew he was my father,
” Jaime 
told JN. “She did not pick that.
”
Jaime, who now lives in Traverse 
City, has so far connected with five 
other half-siblings assumed to be 
the biological children of Dr. Peven 
through artificial insemination. 
They’re spread out across the coun-
try, from Michigan to Oregon. 
Dr. Peven, 104, delivered more 
than 9,000 babies during his career, 
some through artificial insemina-
tion. But according to his son, Roger 
Peven, he has not taken a DNA test 
himself to help verify how many 
biological children he has. 
Detroit Medical Center, which 
today runs Sinai-Grace Hospital, 
declined to comment for this 
article. 

A WELL-RESPECTED DOCTOR
Philip Peven was born in Detroit 
in 1916. He attended Central High 
School and Wayne State University, 
and later studied medicine at the 
University of Michigan. He gradu-
ated in 1941; at 104, he is the oldest 
living alumnus of U-M’s medical 
school. 
After finishing medical school, 
Dr. Peven joined the U.S. Army 
Reserve in the medical corps. 
He met a woman named Kay in 
England before leaving for the 
World War II invasion of North 
Africa, where he served as a sur-
geon. The two married in 1945 
and had two children togeth-
er — Roger, who now lives in 
Washington state and runs a law 
firm in Spokane, and Kari, who 
lives in Michigan. Dr. Peven and 
Kay were together until Kay’s pass-
ing in 2013. 
Dr. Peven, who now lives in 
Southfield, went on to serve as 
chief of obstetrics at Grace Hospital 
(now DMC Sinai-Grace), and a 
professor of obstetrics and gyne-
cology at Wayne State University 
School of Medicine. He was also 
affiliated with Sinai Hospital. He 
retired in 1987.
He was well known for assisting 
women in Metro Detroit with 
their pregnancies and personally 

continued on page 16

GARY HOWE

“TO SEE THAT I WAS 
50% ASHKENAZI JEW 
WAS A BIT 

OF A SHOCK!”

— JAIME HALL

Traverse City resident Jaime Hall 

says Dr. Philip Peven admitted she 

was his biological daughter after 

she showed him her DNA test.

