Gil Friedell, first director of UK Markey Cancer Center, has died. He was 91.
Dr. Gilbert H. “Gil” Friedell, the first director of the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky, died Sept. 23. He was 91.
During his career, Friedell consistently placed an emphasis on reaching the medically underserved, his obituary said.
“He was heavily engaged in community programming for cancer and he set up the statewide cancer registry and he also set up cancer coalitions all over the state,” said Richard Heine, executive director of the Lexington-based Friedell Committee for Health System Transformation. “He really believed that if the problems are in the community, the solutions are in the community.”
Friedell became the first director of UK’s Markey Cancer Center in 1983, co-founding the Kentucky Cancer Registry and serving as the principal investigator of National Cancer Institute’s Mid-South Cancer Information Service and co-director of an expanded statewide cancer control outreach program.
In 1994, along with his colleagues, Friedell started the Kentucky Homeplace to facilitate greater access to healthcare for low income people in rural areas. They also established Indian Summer, a camp for children living with cancer, his obituary said.
Before coming to UK, Friedell was medical director at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, Mass., according to the obituary. He also taught at Harvard, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts Medical Schools, the Friedell Committee said.
After retiring from the Markey Cancer Center in 2000, Friedell continued educating people about public health issues in underserved communities.
He also co-authored a book on diabetes control called “The Great Diabetes Epidemic: A Manifesto for Control and Prevention” published in 2014. Friedell also helped launch a 501(c)3 committee to educate public health departments and others with a call to action for public involvement. The group was later named the Friedell Committee for Health System Transformation, and much of Friedell’s focus was with that organization’s work until his last days. The objective was to improve the health of the population of the state, said Heine.
“His life influenced so many people,” Heine said. “He was the model for looking at things in rational ways.”
He is survived by Jan, his wife of 67 years, and four of their five children. Their eldest son, Mark, died in 2016. Friedell is survived by his daughter-in-law, Donna Friedell of Orlando, Fla., son Ben (Diana) of Oneonta, N.Y., daughter Anne Lewis of Charleston, S.C., son James (Laurie) of Newton, Mass., and daughter Sarah O’Connell (Brian) of Somerville, Mass.; as well as seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
A memorial service will be held in Charleston, S.C., in the fall, and details will be released later.