A. Richard Kendall, 86, of Elkins Park, urologist and educator
A. Richard Kendall, 86, of Elkins Park, a longtime urologist, medical school leader, and professor, died Thursday, Jan. 19, of multiple system atrophy at home.
Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Kendall graduated from the 188th class of Central High School, and from Franklin and Marshall College in 1952. Four years later, he earned a medical degree from Temple University, where he also served an internship.
Dr. Kendall then moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., to perform a five-year residency in urology. During that period, he spent six months on the Renal Transplant and Dialysis Team at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, and participated in the second kidney transplant in the world. (The first was Dec. 23, 1954, at Brigham Hospital by Joseph Murray, J. Hartwell Harrison, and John P. Merrill. The patient and donor were identical twins.)
In 1962, he returned home from New England to Philadelphia, where he joined the Urology Department at Temple University. Dr. Kendall liked to say that he could have gone anywhere, but his wife, Devorah Drell Kendall, whom he married in 1952, wanted to live near Camden, her hometown.
In 1974, he was appointed professor and chair of the Department of Urology. He led the department for 16 years and trained more than 80 urologists, most of whom are still in practice.
Dr. Kendall and his longtime associate, Lester Karafin, also provided urologic care to children at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children long before pediatric urology was recognized as a subspecialty. In 1972, the two men joined with Samuel Cresson in performing the first pediatric renal transplant at St. Christopher's.
According to an online hospital history, the operation also was the first kidney to be transplanted into a child in the Philadelphia area.
During his time at Temple, Dr. Kendall won the 1985 Physician of the Year award. In 1970, he was honored by the Christian and Mary Lindback Foundation Award for excellence in teaching.
Dr. Kendall held leadership roles with the Philadelphia Urological Society and the Philadelphia Urological and Teaching Research Foundation, and in 1985 was elected to the prestigious American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons.
"Known for his quick wit, warmth, and pull-no-punches style, Dick was beloved by generations of students, residents, patients and colleagues. And when it comes to urology, he literally wrote the book," wrote Larry R. Kaiser, dean of Temple's medical school.
Dr. Kendall served as editor of the Urology Times, and coeditor of the Kendall and Karafin Urology Textbook. He published more than 100 articles in medical journals.
In retirement, starting in 1990, he played bridge and attended his grandchildren's plays and sports events. He and his wife traveled the world.
"Dick always made his friends and family laugh. He was a pretty good golfer in his time, too, scoring a hole-in-one three times," his family said. "We have the plaques on the wall."
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Amy K. Charles and Susan Rhode; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Funeral services were Sunday, Jan. 22, with interment in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.
Donations may be made to the Abramson Center for Jewish Life, 1425 Horsham Rd., North Wales, Pa. 19454, or to the Philadelphia Urological and Teaching and Research Foundation, 1235 Old York Rd., Suite 210, Abington, Pa. 19001. The foundation's mission is to advance medical education by giving grants to individuals connected with the Temple University urology program.