Leonard George Christie Jr.

Leonard G. Christie, Jr., M.D., passed away March 6, 2021, from complications of Parkinson disease. He was born September 27, 1939 in New York City to Leonard G. Christie and Dorothea Stimus Christie.

Len spent his early years in New Jersey with his sisters, Lee and Doran, and his brother, Rick. He graduated from Bernardsville High School, earned his B.S. from Virginia Military Institute, and graduated from Temple University Medical School in 1964. Len completed his Internship and two years of Residency at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, where he met his future wife, Judith Ann Kohanski. They married in 1968 and immediately began their 53 year adventure by moving to San Francisco where Len completed a 3rd year of Residency at U of C Medical Center in San Francisco. Following his two year Army obligation in Japan, Len received his Fellowship in Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University in 1974.

Len was an Assistant Professor of Cardiology at Dartmouth and the University of Florida before practicing for many years in Eugene, Oregon where he established the Oregon Heart Center at Sacred Heart Hospital. Public health became an interest when Len volunteered in Haiti during his Residency and again after he retired. He returned to Johns Hopkins to earn his Masters of Public Health after volunteering in South Africa.

Len’s interests beyond medicine included hiking and being outdoors with his sons, gardening, and traveling. Len and his wife Judy took many memorable trips. He is remembered by many for raising llamas and sheep, and for driving his tractor and beloved 1965 Porsche which is still part of the family. St Bernard dogs often accompanied him.

Len is survived by Judy and his three sons, Ross, Zachary, and Tyler, and their families. His six grandchildren will miss him very much. In 2015 Judy and Len returned to New England and settled on Cape Cod.

A celebration of his life will be planned for later this summer. A memorial website can be found at www.nickersonfunerals.com.