Alfred de Lorimier, MD ’56: A Study in Humility and Generosity

After 32 years at UCSF, where he established the specialty of pediatric surgery, Alfred de Lorimier, MD ’56, took up wine-grape growing with his wife Sandy.

Don’t take any shortcuts. Those were the words Alfred de Lorimier, MD ’56, lived by, whether he was running a cross-country race, growing wine grapes, sailing his keelboat, or performing an appendectomy on a young patient.

“I didn’t realize how accomplished my dad was until after he died,” his daughter Sally says. “He was always moving, always researching and experimenting with everything. He instilled in us a sense of humility—that you don’t talk or boast about your accomplishments, you just do it.”

While training in surgery at UCSF, de Lorimier realized that “the surgery of children needed substantial improvement.” He pursued a rigorous two-year program at The Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, which was pioneering the specialty of pediatric surgery. In 1964 he brought that rich knowledge back to UCSF, where he is credited with single-handedly establishing the specialty of pediatric surgery—not just at the university but also throughout Northern California. In 1970 he was one of the founders of the American Pediatric Surgical Association.

“Dr. de Lorimier’s legacy in pediatric surgery is profound,” says Hanmin Lee, MD, chief of the UCSF Division of Pediatric Surgery. “Dozens of pediatric and fetal surgeons have come out of the division he started, many of them now influential leaders in the field.” The son of two UCSF alumni, de Lorimier served on the UCSF faculty for 32 years—for 24 of those years as chief of pediatric surgery—and retired in 1996.

His children remember him as being so dedicated to his work that he was often away from home and working even after hours. “At home he was frequently taking calls, nights, weekends, in the middle of the night; we kids weren’t allowed to use the phone,” says his son Robert. “He even took calls on the boat.” Besides sailing, he had many other laudable pursuits—including competitive long-distance running, the music of Beethoven, and making wine.

While he never completely retired from medicine, he took up wine-grape growing in the early 1970s—teaching himself the craft and working with his wife Sandy to launch their own winery, de Lorimier Winery, in 1985.

“My father’s interests were broad, and he saw value in not being too narrowly focused in a specialty,” Robert says. Accordingly, the de Lorimiers established the Alfred A. de Lorimier Endowed Chair in General Surgery to support the research, teaching, and clinical activities of the chair holder in the area of general surgery. Renowned UCSF surgeon Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, now holds that endowed chair.

“There are so many different medical specialties,” Sally says. “The chair exists because my dad felt that we always need doctors who are also well-rounded, compassionate human beings.”