Ralph Spiegl, devoted alumnus and fundraiser, dies at 86
Ralph Spiegl
Ralph Spiegl, MD, a Stanford undergraduate and medical school alumnus who was an extraordinary volunteer fundraiser for the university, died April 16 from Parkinson's disease. He was 86.
In recognition of his 35 years of volunteer service to Stanford, Spiegl received four separate awards culminating with the Gold Spike Award in April 1999. He was only the third medical doctor to receive this prestigious award for outstanding volunteer leadership. Among his most challenging fundraising assignments was to encourage the creation of the Richard M. Lucas Center for Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging. He also donated art pieces to Stanford's Cantor Center for Visual Arts and the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.
In 2003, the School of Medicine awarded Spiegl the Dean's Medal, its highest award for individuals whose service or support is deemed exemplary.
In 2006, thanks to the support of many friends, the Ralph and Marilyn Spiegl Simulation Suite was opened, allowing Stanford physicians and residents to practice various treatment procedures on sophisticated computerized mannequins before trying them on real patients.
Spiegl was born in San Francisco on April 12, 1923. He graduated from Lowell High School where he developed his lifelong interest in swimming and tennis. He went on to UC-Berkeley where his mother, father and brother were alumni. At Berkeley he was freshman class president and captain of the water polo team when polio changed the course of his life. His doctors told him he would have to leave the Berkeley campus hills for a flatter campus. He transferred to Stanford, where he was a pre-med major, graduating magna cum laude in 1945 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to graduate from the School of Medicine in 1948.
Spiegl's internship and residency took him to Stanford Hospital in San Francisco, Harvard's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and the National Heart Hospital in London. He returned to Stanford Hospital as chief resident with many responsibilities for the residents and interns including a lesser-known one of making sure they dressed properly wearing clean "whites," a dress shirt and well-polished shoes. In 1954 he began private practice in internal medicine, which he continued for 41 years, retiring in 1995.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, of Palo Alto; children Jacqui Spiegl, Lori Spiegl, Carin Pollock and Bob Spiegl; stepchildren Sherry King, Deborah Clansky and Jim Clansky; and several grandchildren and step-grandchildren. His brother, Robert Spiegl of San Francisco, preceded him in death several years ago.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. May 7 in the Stanford Memorial Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Ralph and Marilyn Spiegl Scholarship Fund. Checks should be made payable to Stanford School of Medicine and sent to the Stanford Office of Gift Processing, 326 Galvez St., Stanford, CA, 94305. Please note on the check that it is in memory of Dr. Ralph Spiegl.