Damanhuri D. Alkaitis ’65
Damanhuri D. Alkaitis ’65 died on February 3 in Arnold, Maryland. He was born in Lithuania on August 7, 1944, while the family was escaping the Soviets during WWII. After five years in German displaced-persons camps, the family arrived at Ellis Island in 1950, and then settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Known to us at Dartmouth as Algis Alkaitis, he was a chemistry major, and later received a Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Berkeley in 1970 and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1975. After a neurology residency, his career as a physician lasted over forty years, building a reputation for the time, undivided attention, and customized care he gave to his patients. A natural problem solver and brilliant diagnostician, he pushed to find sources of people’s ailments and work with each one. Above all, he practiced with integrity and human care. Damanhuri was also dedicated to his relationship with God, which guided all else. He loved the Subud spiritual community that he was close to, working hard to build and sustain a community center nearby and traveling all over the world to support others. Those who were close to him also knew Damanhuri in the many little things that he made larger than life: Beethoven concertos, roasting coffee, fluffy pancakes, etc. He is survived by Rohana, his beloved wife of 30 years; his children Michael, Matthew ’09, and Samuel; his stepchildren, Lauren, Harris, Lew, Matthew, and Alexandra, who were very much his own; thirteen grandchildren; and his sister, Milda Danielle.
