ROBERT M. GIPSTEIN ’57

ROBERT M. GIPSTEIN, M.D., a nephrologist who was an associate professor of clinical medicine at U.C.L.A., and who retired as chief of staff at Santa Monica Hospital, died Sept. 3, 2010, at age 75. A member of Gamma Psi, he majored in biology and received his degree with high honors and with distinction in creative writing after writing a novel for his honors thesis. He received his medical degree from Tufts University and served in the U.S. Army. Always devoted to ethical principles, he braved a potential court martial by refusing to execute a direct order to perform, on enlisted men, a particular experiment that he did not believe had been tested sufficiently. He published numerous research articles, and he lectured and presented at medical conferences worldwide. Divorced from Gwynne Zachs Gipstein, he is survived by his life partner, Joan L. Colwell, with whom he reunited at their 50th high school reunion, and one son, Jason Gipstein ’87.