Ralph Dell - Living & Dying

Remembering

Ralph got the long end of the wishbone. I asked him what he wished for. He replied, “I wish everything would clear up and we could go home again!

Ralph’s Obituary

Ralph Bishop Dell, 84, a research scientist, physician and biomathematical modeling expert; a lifelong outdoorsman and craftsman; and devoted husband, father, and grandfather, died in the loving embrace of his wife, Karen Hein, MD, and his children and grandchildren, at his home on February 11, 2020, from progressive dementia. Dr. Dell was born and raised in small Alaskan fishing villages and towns, which eventually led him to be nicknamed “Alaska Mountain Man.” He graduated from Pomona College in 1957 and from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1961, paying his way through by repairing tube radios and TVs. Dr. Dell became a full professor at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center/Columbia University Physicians and Surgeons, one of the youngest people ever to be so appointed. He was a champion of the appropriate use and treatment of animals in research, and a frequent speaker and public resource on the topic. In addition to New York, he and his wife had deep roots in Vermont, where they lived in an 1826 farmhouse in Whitingham that Ralph and friends lovingly restored. Dr. Dell was diagnosed with progressive dementia in 2011. A short video documentary, “Ralph and the Gift of Alzheimer’s Disease,” captured his and his wife’s desire to learn from the experience of dementia. https://vimeo.com/162835203