George K. York

George K. York, M.D., ’78, neurologist, historian of neurology, and health care executive, died in Fiddletown in June at age 70. He was a concerned and empathetic physician who saw his clinical role primarily as a patient advocate. His accomplishments in his parallel life as an academic historian of neurology included chairmanships of the history sections of the American Academy of Neurology and World Federation of Neurology, twice winner of the AAN’s Lawrence McHenry Award, many invited international lectures, dozens of peer reviewed publications, and memberships in the Royal Society of Medicine and Savile Club.

York’s area of academic focus was the founder of scientific neurology, John Hughlings Jackson, for which he was an acknowledged world’s expert. His humorous commentary on health care issues and policies, The Termite, was distributed for nearly 15 years to the Kaiser Medical Group. He served on AAN and Kaiser finance committees.

York grew up in Davis, and attended medical school and performed his neurology residency at UC Davis. After a UCSF fellowship, he opened a practice in the Gold Country and was later recruited to head the neurology department at Kaiser Stockton.

George is survived by his wife Pamela and his siblings, Judi Williams, Peter York, Jennifer Linzey and Melissa Chase.

Excerpted from medical society obituary.

Ken Geiger

Ken Geiger, B.S. ’80, M.D. ’84, retired orthopedic surgeon and a medical software pioneer, died last June at his home in Sonoma. He was 63 and had suffered from chronic kidney disease.

Born in San Francisco, Dr. Geiger spent his youth in Marin County and graduated from Redwood High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at UC Davis in 1980, and his medical degree in 1984, also at Davis. He completed his residency in orthopedics in Phoenix after a general surgery internship at Maricopa Medical Center. He then relocated to Sonoma, where his father, Robert Geiger, had an orthopedic surgery practice and his mother, Katie Valasek, taught in the English department at Sonoma Valley High.

Ken and his father practiced together from 1989 until 2006, and Ken was adored by his patients for his sense of humor and his caring bedside manner. He also volunteered his time providing sports physicals for the high school athletics department and serving as a team doctor for the Sonoma Dragons football program. Ken was an early adopter of computers and coding, and built a software program that streamlined medical records and billing for local doctors.

Ken is survived by his wife Anne Geiger, his sons Maxwell Geiger and Nicholas Geiger, his parents Katie Valasek, Bob Geiger and step-mother Donna Geiger; and his siblings Chris Geiger, Carolyn Ward Baum, Marilyn Hueper, Jennifer Geiger, Tom Ward, Angela Geiger, Kim Akkawi and Tami Pesic.

Excerpted from The Sonoma Index-Tribune.

Patricia Ostrander

Patricia Ostrander, M.D. ‘87, passed away in February after an eight-year encounter with cancer. She was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts to Bill and Georgene LaPorta, an Air Force tech sergeant and a nurse. She spent her childhood in a variety of places, from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan to Nebraska and the Philippines, before her family settled in Rancho Cordova near Mather Air Force Base.

Dr. Ostrander was an endocrinologist for over 25 years at Mercy Medical Group in Sacramento. She loved being a doctor and cared about her patients, and she loved the field of endocrinology. She also loved gardening and, over the last ten years, turned the acre of land where she and her husband lived into a series of beautiful gardens.

She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Adam, daughter Annabelle, sons Will and Harry, son-in-law James, and grandson, her most recent joy, Connor. In addition she leaves her siblings Denise O’Campo, Vickie LaPorta, Bob LaPorta (Marilyn) and Tom LaPorta (Carol).

Excerpted from The Sacramento Bee.