“Let Your Life Speak.” This Quaker proverb exemplifies the life of Dr. Frank Lepreau, age 99, who died peacefully at home in Westport, MA on January 25, 2012. He was born in Oak Park, IL on October 6, 1912, to the late Frank James and Marion Lepreau during the time his father was a Senior Vice President and general sales manager for Thomas A Edison Co. The family later moved to Virginia, Hastings-on-Hudson, and back to Chicago area where he finished high school. Dr. Lepreau was an alumnus of Dartmouth College (’34), where he excelled in cross-country, track, and snowshoeing. Having contracted untreatable pneumonia in college, he was influenced to pursue medical school because of the daily visits and empathy of his doctor.
Following graduation from Harvard Medical School (’38) he interned for a year in pathology at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, NH where he met his future wife, Hanover native and Wellesley grad Miriam (Monny) Barwood, who was working in the lab. She was the love of his life. They married in 1939, raised five children, and were married 54 years. His surgical internship and residency were at Yale-New Haven Hospital where outstanding professors made an indelible mark on his life. In 1948, under the mentorship of his “hero” Dr. Warren Atwood, he began a busy and successful practice in general and thoracic surgery at Truesdale Clinic and Hospital in Fall River, MA. Dr. Lepreau was a master of his craft and delighted in teaching everyone. His appreciation of nurses could not be underestimated. He was always available to colleagues, nurses, patients, and their families. He gladly made house calls and his telephone number was never unlisted. From his garden in Westport he often brought roses and camellia blossoms to his patients. He was active in all things Westport. He initiated measures to assure the river was safe for fishing and swimming. He was instrumental in updating the zoning laws. He was a member of the Board of Health and the school committee. He and his family were members of the Westport Friends Meeting.
Strongly influenced by the work of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Dr. Lepreau was eager to try service outside the country. He spent two months at Friends Africa Mission in Kaimosi, Kenya, but the community was not the right fit for his family. He visited Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, Haiti, a private hospital founded by Dr. Larimer Mellon and, in 1964, decided to move there with his family. He was one of three surgeons and subsequently became its Medical Director. This time was especially satisfying both personally and professionally. He relished the lack of red tape, few required forms, exciting and challenging surgery, colleagues from around the world, and mentoring young physicians.
The return from Haiti in 1973 was professionally difficult for Dr. Lepreau. He fled
to the Appalachian town of Hyden, KY to the Frontier Nursing Service, an internationally recognized institution for training nurse midwives. Although the practice was challenging and varied, the isolated geographical and cultural setting was difficult for him and his wife. After two years he returned to Westport and joined the Westport Family Medicine Center resuming his surgical practice for a few years. In 1977, he co-founded and was Medical Director of Stanley Street Treatment and Resources in Fall River, now known simply as SSTAR. It has evolved from a local facility for alcohol dependency to an international model for treatment of chemical dependency and HIV/AIDS. From 1994-2002 he was the Medical Director of the Rose Hawthorne Lathrop Home for Hospice Care. He continued teaching throughout his career, most recently the medical students and residents of the Alpert Medical School at Brown University.
Dr. Lepreau was a humble man. The Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, the Sermon on the Mount, and his Quaker faith guided his life. He drew on Sir William Osler’s essays in Aequanimitas and Dr. Francis Peabody’s Doctor and Patient as models for himself. His care of others was marked by generosity of spirit, wisdom, and time. He believed that physicians could never underestimate the power of “being there” for patients. He had an innate curiosity about humanity and the wider world. He had a profound appreciation and knowledge of literature, history, and the arts. He loved Broadway musicals, art museums, and dancing with his wife to the Big Band tunes. His favorite movie was Casablanca and he regretted never having visited France, particularly Paris, as France was his father’s native land. He absolutely adored his father who was the first and foremost positive influence on his life.
Dr. Lepreau was adventurous. As a college student he rode-the-rails between Chicago and New York. He climbed Mt Washington with his young daughters. In Haiti he and his wife took an overnight trip on a rickety Haitian boat along with hundreds of locals and various livestock. He descended a coal mine in Kentucky. In his later years he and his wife took river trips in the West with their son. At age 85 he sailed on the Bounty with his grandson. He maintained his youthful spirit through his genuine interest in and connection to individuals considerably younger than himself and by remaining personally and professionally engaged in the community. In recent years his favorite sayings were: “CARPE DIEM. CARPE DIEM” and “Do the best you can where you are and be kind.”
Dr. Lepreau’s survivors include: daughters Lucy Ann Lepreau of Providence, RI, Judy Lepreau Keller of Wakefield, RI, and Mimi Lepreau Jose of Indianapolis, IN; granddaughter Renée Lepreau; grandsons Sean O’Neill, Timothy O’Neill Dang (Thien ) and their sons Kien and Galileo, Jeffrey Keller (Meghan) and their sons Murphy and Emmett; Peter Keller (Becky) and their daughter Sadie, Frank J. Lepreau IV, Matthew Jose and his son Ian Lepreau Lovell, and Evan Jose; niece Louise Whitney. He was predeceased by his wife Monny (1994), brother Bill (1984), daughter Sue (1993), son Jay (2008), and granddaughter Erica Jose (1985).
There is a tribute to Dr. Lepreau on the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer website. www.hashaiti.org
A memorial service for Dr. Lepreau will be held on Saturday April 14, 2012, at 1:00 pm in the Westport Friends Meetinghouse, 938 Main Road, Westport, MA.
Contributions in Dr. Lepreau’s name may be made to: Westport River Watershed Alliance, P.O. Box 3427, Westport, MA 02790 and Westport Land Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 3975, Westport, MA 02790.