Howard James Geist ’52

Howard James Geist ’52, M.D., of Portland, Oregon, passed away on March 21. He was born August 13, 1929, in Madison, Wisconsin, and graduated from East Side High School in Madison before entering Dartmouth. He graduated with a degree in medicine in preparation for receiving his M.D. at Harvard Medical School, class of 1955. At Dartmouth he was a member of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity. While interning at Barnes Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, he met Sally Ray Haase, and they married in 1956. After three years as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, he completed an orthopedic surgery residency at University Hospital in Cleveland and later was on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In 1964 Howard and family moved west and he entered private practice in Portland with a focus on orthopedic surgery, serving the community for some 30 years. He spent most of his career at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and served as president of staff there. Portland became a central part of his life. Howard and Sally were devoted to the outdoors and spent much of their free time enjoying the beauty of Oregon. They also traveled extensively, covering all seven continents. He was an avid skier and squash player. Howard is survived by Sally, sons Dennis ’80, Alan, Richard and Gary, their spouses, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.