PETER DENIS DE IPOLYI, M.D.
1945-2017
Beloved Dr. Peter de Ipolyi, affectionately known as Dr. D by patients, colleagues, family and friends, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Dr. de Ipolyi was born “on the road” during his family’s escape from Hungary on April 7, 1945 in the tiny Austrian town of Mank. The first five years of his life were spent as a refugee until his father, also a physician, secured permission to take the family to America. The family settled in Gabriels in far upstate New York where a tuberculosis sanitarium was located in the Adirondack Mountains. There his father completed a five-year medical residency as required of all foreign trained physicians, until 1955, when the family moved to Saranac Lake.
Dr. D graduated high school at 16 and went on to the first year that Boston University School of Medicine offered a six-year medical program. He then came to Houston in 1967 and interned at Ben Taub General Hospital. He completed two years of residency training with Drs. Denton Cooley and Michael DeBakey at Baylor College of Medicine followed by three years of residency beginning in 1970 at Sisters of Charity - St. Joseph Hospital. In 1973, Dr. de Ipolyi met Dr. John Stehlin and completed a one-year surgical oncology fellowship with The Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research. From that point forward, he knew surgical oncology was the path he was meant to take, and he followed it for 40 years.
Dr. de Ipolyi became a partner in the Stehlin & de Ipolyi Oncology Clinic and Associate Scientific Director of The Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research. He was also a surgical oncologist and general surgeon at Sisters of Charity – St. Joseph. Dr. de Ipolyi was well-known in the scientific and medical community for his expertise in the surgical treatment of breast cancer, melanoma, and other solid tumors. He took great pleasure in teaching young surgical residents and saw many go on to excellent careers throughout the country.
His patients adored Dr. D because he spent as much time as needed with them and their families and was always available to answer their questions and soothe their fears. He was truly one of a kind- brilliant, compassionate and loving with a vibrant personality and a strong drive to help others. Dr. D touched so many lives and will be tremendously missed by all.
Peter is survived by Marit Bjelland de Ipolyi, his loving wife of 48 years; daughters Danielle de Ipolyi Ryan and her husband Brad, and Erica de Ipolyi; grandchildren Aiden and Kathryn Ryan; brothers Harold Ipolyi and Ben de Ipolyi and his wife Susan; sister Esther de Ipolyi; sister-in-law Krista Wetterau and niece Lindsey; nieces Lori Dagley, Toni Gunning and Amy de Ipolyi; and nephew Jeffrey de Ipolyi. He is preceded in death by his sister Barbara and parents Dr. Francis X. and Julia Ipolyi.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 10:00 AM at St. Anne Catholic Church, 2140 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77098.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to your personal charity of choice in memory of Dr. D.