Selfless doctor, extraordinary mentor always helped others

Practicing medicine was Leonard Stept’s passion. He spent a lifetime helping others, which he saw as his mission.

On his last day of work earlier this month — after practicing urology for 53 years — he cleaned out his office and took his belongings home.

But just a few hours later, he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in his Shadyside home and died the next day on June 6, on what would have been the first official day of his retirement. He was 80.

“He loved medicine. He drank and slept it all the time,” said his wife, Kathy Stept.

“There wasn’t a phone call he wouldn’t take,” she said. “We would be on the way to dinner or an event, and he would stop to help that person right then and there or find someone who could help.”

Years ago, Dr. Stept won over Ms. Stept by helping her find an apartment in Shadyside, where he was living at the time.

They had had a first date, but she wasn’t impressed. She didn’t want to be bothered by him, but he persisted. He learned of her search and found her an apartment. She fell in love with him shortly afterward.

They were married for more than 30 years, all of which were “kind and wonderful, no matter the place.”

He followed in the footsteps of other family members — an uncle and brother — who also were doctors. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1959 from Franklin & Marshall College, he received his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963, and completed his residency training in surgery and urology at Allegheny General Hospital, West Penn Hospital and New York University Upstate in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1971. He took a break to serve as a captain in the Air Force from 1964-1965.

During his time as urologist, he was affiliated with various UPMC hospitals, including St. Margaret, St. Clair, Magee-Womens Hospital and Shadyside.

Away from work he dedicated his time to serving charities and nonprofits, such as the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and Catholic Charities.

He was a longtime supporter of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He and his wife accompanied the symphony on several of its European tours over the years. He also was heavily involved with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, as a donor and member of various boards.

In 2012, he traveled to Lusaka, Zambia, with IVUMed, a nonprofit that works with providing urological care worldwide. Not only did he treat patients, but he helped educate and train Zambian urologists.

“This was a life-changing experience that I could not have gotten in any other venue. I would recommend it to any physician who has the desire to do something for his fellow man,” he was quoted in a press release for IVUMed.

Elaine Stept, his niece from Pittsburgh, remembers Dr. Stept as an extraordinary mentor for residents at the hospitals. He would often tell residents stories about his life and work to guide them in their own lives.

“He was always so interested in helping other people. You would talk to him about himself, and he would flip the conversation to find out how you were doing, so he could help you,” she said.

In addition to his wife and niece, he is survived by other nieces and nephews.

His funeral was held Sunday at Ralph Schugar Chapel Inc., 5509 Centre Ave.

The family suggests donations to Rodef Shalom Congregation, the PSO or Catholic Charities.