Barry Jay Greenberg

Since graduating in 1959, I attended the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the College of Medicine, finally graduating in 1967 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. A week prior to graduation, I married Laurel, and after graduation, we moved to Akron, where I completed my internship and residency training, becoming an Orthopaedic Surgeon in July, 1972.

I then entered the United States Air Force, and served for two years at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, as an Orthopaedic Surgeon, with the highlight of my service being the honor to evaluate and treat the Vietnam POWs that were released and sent home.

Leaving the Air Force behind in 1974, I returned to Akron to practice Orthopaedic Surgery, raise my family, and in time subspecialize doing spinal surgery and treating spinal disorders. I had a great career until I became disabled in 1999, and had to cease doing surgery. I've authored lots of papers, and I have had chapters published in Orthopaedic textbooks.

I practiced office Orthopaedics until I had to retire in 2006, when I reached the age of 65. However, my life is not empty professionally speaking, as I still do consultations, and most impoortant of all, I partially funded the building of a 19 room medical facility in the Kenya village of Masara. I return to Kenya yearly, with a group of 40 to 50 medical personnel for 3 weeks, to evaluate and treat over 5000 patients. In our absence, we have full time nurse practitioners on duty to keep the clinic open and operational 24/7, serving an area population of 15,000 Kenyans. With my close friend and a Kenyan, Bonyo Bonyo, D. O., we just finished building a fresh water system for the clinic and the villagers, who now, no longer, have to walk 3 miles one way to collect filthy water from a river full of large crocs and hippos. Please visit our clinic at www.Care-Kenya.org.

In addition, I'm on the Board of Trustees of our Akron Zoo, and I head the Animal Welfare Committee. I am then "Doctor Doolittle", and I get to play and sing to the animals. It does not get any better then that.

My health is failing, as Diabetes is taking it's toll, but life is good, and when my feet hit the floor each morning, it's a blessing and I know it's going to be a good day. Remember that one's life should not be measured by the number of times you take a breathe; one's life should be measured by the number of moments that take your breathe away.

I will look forward to seeing you in September!

While I enjoyed singing in the choir and the ensemble, I certainly was not the football team's quarterback who also played trombone in the band, Bob Shilling, I believe was his name.. On the other hand, while I never dipped any girl's pigtails in the inkwell, I do remember, the many times that Mr. Tyson tried to do physics experiments in front of the class, and the experiments would flop, something would break, and on one day, he accidently shorted out a transformer while doing an experiment, the equipment caught fire, and the electricity went out in the entire building wing. Wow, what a laff we all had. I also remember, joining up with Myron Jefferies, and pouring diluted hydrochloric acid into Mr. Tyson's plant pots. He once said that he could not understand why his plants died; as he suspected that there may have been something in the school water supply that did not agree with his plants.

And finally, a tribute to my first high school love, Harriet Heimen, who was so beautiful, and who died so young. She was wonderful.