Dr. Henry Claman
Dr. Henry N. Claman, a brilliant physician who integrated arts, literature and writing into the medical education curriculum, passed away Sept. 3, 2016, in Denver. Rabbis Joe Black and Steven Foster and Cantor Elizabeth Sacks officiated at the Sept. 5 service at Temple Emanuel.
Rabbi Foster officiated at the Sept. 6 graveside service at Emanuel Cemetery. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
“We were close friends and colleagues for 50 years,” Dr. Daniel Teitelbaum said. “I admired his intelligence, his creativity and his scientific integrity. His dedication to the human side of medicine was deep and wide.
“In July, I gave the first lecture in his honor at the Aspen Allergy Conference,” Teitelbaum said. “He was not well enough to attend the talk but it was recorded for him.
“He will be irreplaceable in our community.”
Charles Goldberg, a friend and fellow member of the Cactus Club with Dr. Claman, expressed his remorse.
“We’ll miss Henry’s erudite manner, his love of poetry and music, and his calm demeanor,” he said. “While Parkinson’s disease prevented him from joining us at the long table recently, his heart was with us.”
Dr. Claman was a third-generation physician and second-generation allergist.
He attended Harvard College, the New York University School of Medicine, and completed training in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Upon completing his military duties as head of allergy at the US Army Hospital in Ft. Meade, Md., Dr. Claman moved to Denver in 1962 to work with Dr. David Talmage in the division of allergy and immunology at the CU School of Medicine.
In 1966, Dr. Claman and colleagues published the seminal observation that cellular cooperation between lymphocytes from bone marrow and those from the thymus was essential for antibody production.
This established the understanding of T-B collaboration in immunology.
His 2004 article in the Journal of Immunology was heralded as a “Pillar of Immunology.”
Dr. Claman served as head of the division of allergy and clinical immunology at the CU School of Medicine and belonged to several prestigious editorial boards.
He was honored with the Sulzberger Prize from the American Dermatologic Society; the Besredka Prize of the Foundation Franco-Allemande; the Chairman’s Award of the Department of Medicine; and the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award for Achievement in Science.
In his later years, Dr. Claman founded the arts and humanities healthcare program at CU, which integrated the arts, literature and reflective writing into the medical curriculum.
Founder of The Human Touch, an annual anthology of poetry, prose and photography from the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, he wrote Jewish Images in the Christian Church: Art as the Mirror of the Jewish-Christian Conflict 200-1250 CE, in 2000.
Dr. Claman was on the Temple Emanuel board, president of the Denver Institute for Jewish Studies and belonged to the Rocky Mountain Harvard Club.
In his later years, he was appointed distinguished professor of medicine and immunology and received an honorary doctorate from CU in 2014.
He was the recipient of CU’s Thomas Jefferson Award, one of the university’s highest honors.
Dr. Claman is survived by his wife Janet Claman; son David (Sunita Vatuk) Claman of New York; and brother Victor (Priscilla) Claman.
He was predeceased by his daughters Jenny Claman and Ruth Claman.
Contributions may be made to The Denver Hospice, Friends of Chamber Music or Temple Emanuel.
Copyright © 2016 by the Intermountain Jewish News
Dr. Claman was a brilliant man, an excellent teacher in many areas where his knowledge excelled. He was kind and patient with his students; quick to laugh, even at himself; incisively witty, but always gentle with his humor. His contributions to the worlds of Medicine and Art are immeasurable. I consider myself honored to have known him, and to have learned much from him. His song may be ended, but his melody, and memory, lingers on. I, and legions of his students, colleagues, friends and admirers, will never forget him. May he rest in peace