Hamburger, M.D., Stephen Charles

Deceased: January 4, 2015

Service Information:

Obituary

        Stephen Charles Hamburger, M.D., beloved husband, father and Poppy to two grandchildren, passed away suddenly on January 4 in Chicago. He was 68 years old.
        His passing was sudden and truly a life interrupted as Stephen was in the midst of being a loving father and grandfather.  His family loved him, depended on him and embraced him in their everyday life.
        Stephen was an accomplished physician but an even more accomplished father and grandfather who re-directed all he had to his family in his second phase of life.
        He grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, an idyllic seaside community, during his youth. Stephen left Atlantic City for the University of Connecticut, Go Huskies, receiving his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1968. Stephen also earned his medical degree at Connecticut four years later. He trained as a medical resident and endocrine fellow at the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
        In 1977 Dr. Hamburger moved with his family to Kansas City to accept a unique position at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and Truman Medical Center.  Rising through the ranks, he became the Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine in 1982; he held the combined post of Chair and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 1987 through 1994.
        Stephen left Kansas City, continuing his career as the Medical Director of the prestigious Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1999 and 2000. He later was the Medical Director at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans and the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Academic Officer at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
        His success started in college with acceptance to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honors societies and later acceptance to Alpha Omega Alpha, the prestigious medical honors society. Dr. Hamburger was named the Young Internist of the Year in Missouri in 1982 and the Young Internist of the Year in the United States in 1983.
        Stephen and his wife, Linda Hamburger, raised their two children — son Jay and daughter Melissa — in the Kansas City area. Whether it was at a Kansas City Royals game or strolling through Franklin Park, he enjoyed his time in Kansas City.
        He spent the last years of his life in Chicagoland. It was in Chicago that Stephen took on the role of loving Poppy to his granddaughter Minnie Dennis and his grandson Ethan Dennis.
        Stephen is survived by his son, Jay Hamburger of Park City, Utah, daughter Melissa Dennis of Chicago, former wife Linda Hamburger of Naples, Florida, son-in-law Andrew Dennis of Chicago, granddaughter Minnie Dennis, grandson Ethan Dennis and brother Robert Hamburger and sister-in-law Marilyn Hamburger of Wellesley, Massachusetts.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Jacob Hamburger and Freda Hamburger.
        Donations may be made in Stephen’s memory to the American Heart Association or the Ronald McDonald House.

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