NOVEMBER 4 • 2021 | 53

A

llen Silbergleit, M.D., Ph.D., died 
Oct. 22, 2021.
He was born March 8, 1928, 
in Springfield, Mass. Allen grew up a stel-
lar student, drummer, violinist, whistler, 
fish-slicer and teenage grocery clerk.
He received his bachelor’s 
degree from the University 
of Massachusetts and his 
medical degree from the 
University of Cincinnati. 
He did his general surgery 
residency at University of 
Minnesota, his thoracic 
surgery residency at Wayne 
State University and earned 
his Ph.D. in physiology from 
Wayne State University. 
He served as a captain 
and flight surgeon in the 
Air Force prior to moving 
to Michigan. As a medical student in 
Cincinnati, he served as dormitory house 
doctor for the Hebrew Union College.

A LONG, HONORED CAREER
Dr. Silbergleit was the chief of surgery 
and the chief of cardiothoracic sur-
gery at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in 
Pontiac (now St. Joseph Mercy Hospital 
Oakland). He also served as the program 
director of the hospital’s surgical residen-
cy program for 40 years. His dedication 
to medical education at St. Joe’s has 
been recognized by the Annual Allen 
Silbergleit Clinic Day of continuing med-
ical education, where renowned speakers 
are recruited to lecture at the hospital. 
Dr. Silbergleit loved teaching and patient 
care. He taught and operated well beyond 
his home institution especially at hospitals 
in underserved neighborhoods throughout 
the Detroit area. He was taking weekend 
trauma shifts at Detroit Receiving Hospital 
to teach surgery residents well into his 70s.
 Dr. Silbergleit was a Fellow and 
Governor of the American College of 
Surgeons and was a longstanding mem-
ber of both the Committee on Trauma, 
and the Committee on Cancer, and he 
served in leadership roles in many local 
and regional professional societies. He 
was also a prolific writer and editor, spe-

cializing in tributes and histories. 
Over the years, he won innumera-
ble awards and recognitions. Among 
these are the prestigious 2007 Parker J. 
Palmer Courage to Teach Award from 
the Accreditation Council for Graduate 
Medical Education, the 
Alexander J. Walt Award 
of the American College of 
Surgeons Michigan Chapter, 
the Wayne State University 
Surgical Alumnus of the Year 
Award and the Wayne County 
Medical Society Humanitarian 
of the Year Award. In 2015, 
the University of Cincinnati 
presented him with its 
Distinguished Alumni Award. 
The National Association of 
Program Directors in Surgery 
created the Silbergleit Award in 
honor of Allen in 2015, recognizing him 
as the longest-serving surgical residency 
program director ever with 40 years “in 
the saddle,
” running the surgical residency 
program at St. Joe’s Pontiac. The Silbergleit 
award will be given to program directors in 
surgery around the country who serve as 
program directors for 25 years or longer.
He envisioned and founded the Oakland 
Health Education Program (OHEP), 
now the Southeast Michigan Center for 
Medical Education (SEMCME), which is 
now the largest community-based med-
ical education consortium in the United 
States. He has received the OHEP Lifetime 
Achievement Award for Excellence in 
Medical Education. He was SEMCME’s 
first emeritus board member, and they 
have named their annual keynote lecture 
after him.
He joined the faculty of the Wayne 
State University School of Medicine in 
1962 and served as a professor of surgery 
and physiology. He was honored by the 
university in 2013 with the Distinguished 
Service Award in recognition of his devo-
tion to medical students and residents, his 
extensive knowledge in the fields of basic 
science, medicine and surgery, and his gift 
for skillful teaching. At that time, he said, 
“It seemed to me, even when I was a little 
kid, that there couldn’t be anything more 

important than saving the lives of people 
on a routine basis.
” He continued, “
As a 
physician, as a surgeon, our work is appar-
ent quickly when someone is involved in 
a severe trauma; and we operate and take 
care and save a life; what could be more 
important than that? It is something I intu-
itively care for more than anything else.
”
Outside of medicine, he loved serving 
as a judge for the Science and Engineering 
Fair of Southeast Michigan and the State 
Science Fair competitions with his son 
Robert for almost 20 years.
As much as Allen enjoyed teaching and 
the art and science of medicine, he was also 
a loving husband, father, grandfather and 
friend to many. Friends included former 
students, classmates, peers and neigh-
bors from Huntington Woods. Happiest 
moments were spent with the family 
during summer vacations at a cabin on 
Lake Charlevoix. Surrounded by nature 
and his family and a wide array of friends, 
he enjoyed swimming, boating, eating 
fresh-picked corn on the cob for breakfast 
and dinner, laughing, and enjoying cool 
nights or mornings when he could effort-
lessly build a roaring fire in the fireplace.
Allen met the love of his life, Ina, when 
they were counselors at Camp Shor — a 
Jewish overnight camp in Indiana. Married 
for 64 years, he was the devoted husband 
to Ina, caring and supportive, and proud 
father and father-in-law to Dr. Richard 
and Dr. Alice Silbergleit, Nina Silbergleit 
and Dr. Robert Silbergleit, and Catherine 
Zudak. He was a proud and loving zaydie 
to Matthew, Marina and Jay Silbergleit; 
brother to David Silbergleit; uncle to Paul 
Silbergleit. 
He was the devoted son of the late 
Fannie and Harry Silbergleit; and brother 
to the late Milton Silbergleit.
Contributions may be made to the 
Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 
Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 
48334; St. Joseph Mercy Oakland or Wayne 
State University School of Medicine. A 
graveside service was held at Adat Shalom 
Memorial Park Cemetery. Rabbi Aaron 
Starr and Hazzan David Propis officiat-
ed. Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial 
Chapel. 

Dedicated To Healing

Dr. Allen Silbergleit

