Alan G. Zacharia, M.D.'s Obituary
Alan was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Far Rockaway to attend grade school. He skipped kindergarten, and, in spite of run-ins with the principal for questioning the aptitude of his teachers, was put into the SP program which combined grades 7, 8, and 9 into two years. After an interview with Columbia University (the sole purpose of which was to determine how a person with Alan's grades could have a perfect score on the SAT), Alan attended Hobart College at the ripe age of 16. He graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1970 and interned at Kaiser San Francisco from 1970 to 1972 (with flowers in his hair). While attending medical school, Alan did an elective in clinical diagnosis at Westminster Hospital in London, England. This was his most influential course as it inspired him to base a career in medicine on his expertise, as opposed to now common-place knee-jerk deference to diagnostic technology. After this elective, he toured Western and Eastern Europe, including Soviet Hungary and Bulgaria. From '73-'74, he served in the United States Air Force in Taiwan as a partially trained surgeon. It was during a short tour of duty in Thailand and Vietnam that he decided to become an orthopaedic surgeon. While in Taiwan, Alan became a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese. After being discharged, Alan took the long way home, traveling with Sherry throughout Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Afghanistan, Iran, North and East Africa, and Europe. Returning to the Bay Area, Alan completed his orthopaedic residency at the San Francisco Combined Program under Dr. Lloyd Taylor and began practice in 1978 in the Daly City area, beginning his long association with Seton Medical Center. In partnership with Doctors Kamal Shamash and John Siebel, he built Physician’s Medical Center, a full service medical building. He always supported physicians' independence from health systems and challenged the corporate practice of medicine. To this end, he worked with the California Medical Association and drafted physician friendly hospital and medical staff bylaws. Alan was acknowledged by all his friends and family as being the “world’s foremost expert” on everything– perhaps the last Renaissance Man. Alan cherished and encouraged intellectual curiosity. His broad range of interests, from physics to civil liberties, and his quest for knowledge made him the excellent physician he was; it may also explain why he always ran late! He found answers through the use of thought experiments and listening to what his patients had to say about their condition and personal lives. His patients, friends, employees, and colleagues were part of his extended family. Alan is survived by his wife of 40 years, Sherry Zacharia, his son Daniel, daughter Heather, and countless other family members and friends who shared holidays and family events, all of whom join in mourning the passage of this unique person. In lieu of flowers, donations to Vitas Hospice Charitable Fund (39899 Balentine Drive, Suite 161, Newark, California, 94560) are appreciated.
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