May 18, 2007 Neil J. Grey, M.D.

Our classmate, Neil J. Grey, M.D..died May 18, 2007 at the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, of meningitus.

A diabetic himself for the last 20 years of his life, Neil was a doctor for diabetics so renowned for his meticulous care and empathy with his patients that 90 of the patients, fellow doctors and other medical personnel at the Hartford Hospital, where he practiced, sent personal messages to the Hartford Courant newspaper, paying tribute to him on his death.

They told of a doctor who worked from daybreak to well into the night, took time with his patients, assured them he was always available on the telephone, had a phenomenal memory for the personal details of their lives, and had a smile and a joke for all those he met.

Our classmate, Neil Koreman, another doctor who attended the State University of New York Medical School in Brooklyn witn Neil and several other classmates, declared of him, "He was ethical, moral and dedicated to medicine. At medical school and beyond, he was one of the most conscientious doctors I've ever known."

Neil himself, writing in our class book, "More Musings," 40 years after graduation, expressed his regard for Dartmouth, saying, "I suspect my college years contributed substantially to a philosophy that can be summed in three phrases: Try to make a difference, don't take yourself too seriously, and get paid for your work until you no longer need to."

He did his Internship and Residency at the Ohio State Medical School and had a Fellowship at Washington University of St. Louis, before serving as an Army major dfuring the Vietnam war. At Hartford Hospital, Neil was founder and the Director of Diabetes Lifecare, and from 1983 on was a director of the Impaired Physicians Committee, spending countless hours working with physicians who needed help in getting and staying well. He further served as chair of the Committee on Physician Health for the Connecticut State Medical Society.

Neil also taught medicine as Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut Medical School, authored many articles on diabetes in medical journals, and, in 1994, was awarded the Hartford County Medical Association's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal.

A member of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, where an overflow crowd attended his memorial service, Neil is survived by his loving wife, Joan, children Jonathan E. Grey, Elizabeth A. Burke and Nancy R. Grey, two grandchildren and two siblings.

The family asked that donations in his memory be made to Diabetes Lifecare, C/O Fund Development Office, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour St., P.O. Box 5037, Hartford, Ct. 06101, or to the Hebrew Home and Hospital, 1 Abrahams Blvd., West Hartford, Ct. 06117.

We are, I think, highly privileged to have had Neil as a member of our Class. In so many lives, he did "make a difference."

Ken Reich