Seymour Zoger, center, at Yale

Seymour Zoger, MD, was the kind of doctor every parent wishes for their child. A pediatric oncologist at the UCSF Children's Hospital, he was loved by both his patients and staff. Some of his patients when they reached 18 even refused to leave his care, according to his son Adam.

"He had to kick them out the door and tell them they were too old!" he says.

At UCSF, Zoger received the Medical Center's Exceptional Physician Award in 2004 for his exemplary demonstration of the center's values in clinical practice and for his interaction with children, faculty and staff. The Medical Center's values are: professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence. His abilities in communicating with his young patients were especially noted by his colleagues.

"He didn't talk down to them," says Kate Matthay, MD, chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UCSF. "He talked to them as equals. He was honest and straightforward but also very gentle."

Seymour Zoger with his granddaughter

Raised in Norwich, Conn., Zoger came from a modest background. His father was a machine operator at the local shoe factory. Zoger knew upon graduating from high school that he wanted to be a physician. He went on to study at Yale College and Yale School of Medicine.

His connection with UCSF began in 1957 and continued until his death in 2008. He had his own private practice until 1997, but for more than 40 years he worked in the UCSF Children's Hospital in the Hematology/Oncology Division – helping children and families survive cancer, initially as a volunteer and later on as a faculty member. In addition, Zoger embraced the research and training missions of UCSF. Not only was he a valued mentor for young investigators, he also conducted clinical research himself.

Zoger named UCSF Children's Hospital a 50 percent beneficiary of three UC retirement assets. His generous gift, amounting to almost $100,000, will be used to create the Seymour Zoger Pediatric Care Fund, which will support the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program. The program assists survivors of pediatric cancer achieve and maintain optimal physical and emotional health through clinical care, education and research.

"We are extremely grateful to Dr. Zoger, not only for this gift but also for his untiring dedication to pediatrics and to his young patients and their families. During his more than 40 years of service at UCSF, he exemplified for all of us the core meaning of physician, teacher and clinician–scientist," says Sam Hawgood, MB, BS, dean, UCSF School of Medicine and chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

For more information on how to support the Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program at UCSF Children's Hospital, contact Brenda Laribee at 415/476-5079 or BLaribee@support.ucsf.edu.