Samuel Lee Ostrin

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Samuel Lee Ostrin on October 13, 2019. Sam, 79, was surrounded by his family and amazing physicians, nurses, and staff. The family is eternally grateful for the outstanding and compassionate care provided since his first stroke in 2012 until the very end.

Sam always wanted to do stuff, go places, and make things: an adventurous spirit kindled early in life that never waned. Sam’s first three decades were spent all over the world. His father, Norman, a civil engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, took his family from the Panama Canal Zone to Alaska, finally settling in Germany. It was there Sam attended medical school at Universität Heidelberg. While interning at the Bürgerhospital in Stuttgart, he met Petra Litsch, who would become his wife of nearly 50 years. They packed their bags for the Windy City and Sam began his medical career as a pathologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital, retiring some 30 years later from Glen Oaks Hospital as a practicing emergency department physician.

Finding time on his hands, Sam walked five blocks north to Elmhurst College, signed up for a class, and never left. Fifteen years later, it’s impossible to itemize accomplishments, accolades, stained glass-adorned windows, travels, and lives impacted. He was a student, a teacher, an artist, an author, and a physician; purveyor of horribly tasteless jokes, great intellect, philanthropist, and real mensch. Sam was an animal lover, a noodge, a philosopher, and a silly opa who never was certain what to be when he grew up – so he was a bit of everything. The very thought of this resume of sorts would make him queasy!

More than anything, Sam is forever loved and never forgotten.

Sam was preceded in death by his mother, Marya; his father, Norman; and his beloved big brother and best friend David, who was never far from his thoughts. He is survived by his wife Petra; his two children, Debbie and David; his brother, Josef; his three needy cats; and countless others who hold him dear.

A memorial gathering will be held on Monday, November 11 at 4:00 pm in the Founder’s Lounge, Frick Center at Elmhurst College, 190 S Prospect Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Sam’s memory via https://www.elmhurst.edu/give/ or by mailing Elmhurst College, Office of Institutional Advancement, 190 Prospect Ave, Elmhurst, IL 60126. Anything mailed should include a reference to Sam Ostrin.