Howard Maccabee, PhD, MD, FACR

March 6, 1940 - April 10, 2015

Dr. Howard D. Maccabee, age 75, prominent Northern California Radiation Oncologist and resident of Danville, CA passed away on April 10, 2015, following a courageous year long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was interred at Gan Shalom Cemetery, Briones, CA, on April 14, 2015. A Memorial Celebration of his life will be scheduled in the near future.

“Mac,” as he liked to be called, was born on March 6, 1940 in Springfield, IL, grew up in Highland Park, IL, where he was Bar Mitzvahed, and graduated from Highland Park High School. He attended Purdue University in Lafayette, IN, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1961, intending to join his father, Ben Maccabee, in his engineering firm in Chicago. Instead, he chose to attend UC Berkeley for postgraduate education, and earned a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1964 and a PhD in Nuclear Biophysics in 1966, in an unheard of 5 years. In the PhD program, which included work at Lawrence Livermore Labs with Nobel Prizewinners, such as Dr. Edward Teller as one of his professors, he studied the behavior of high energy heavy subatomic particles and their effect on normal and malignant human tissues, specifically brain tumors, which piqued his interest and later study of Radiation Oncology. After completing his PhD, he accepted a post-doctoral teaching appointment at UC Berkeley for 2 ½ years, then received an appointment for 1½ years as a Research Fellow through the Atomic Emergency Research Council at Oxford University, England to study the effects of various kinds of radiation on DNA. He next accepted a joint teaching appointment at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaching radiological physics and conducting experiments relating to the use of neutron beams to treat brain tumors. In 1970, he returned to UC Berkeley as a faculty member in Medical Physics and staff member of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, where he conducted research relating to treatment of brain tumors with high energy particle beams. In 1972, after deciding that he could make a greater contribution to medicine by treating cancer patients than by continuing theoretical research, he entered the University of Miami, FL Medical Center PhD/MD program and completed his medical school training on June 30, 1975. He thereafter finished a residency in Radiation Oncology at UC San Francisco Medical School on June 30, 1979. He subsequently became Board Certified in Radiation Oncology and was honored with Fellowship in the American College of Radiology.

His illustrious 25-year career as a practicing Radiation Oncologist began in Walnut Creek, CA in association with prominent Oncologists, Dan Ben-Zeev, MD and Robert Lowitz, MD. In November 1980, he “opened the doors” to the Radiation Oncology Clinic (ROC) at John Muir Hospital, equipped with a Varian 6-million volt linear accelerator, where during his career he treated and cured thousands of patients suffering with various forms of malignancies, until he retired from full-time practice in 2005. During his tenure, advances in treatment improved technically and technologically, and the ROC acquired the first 3D treatment system with computerized planning, the first stereotactic frame and performed the first stereotactic radiation treatment of difficult brain tumor cases in Northern California, outside of UC and Stanford. Throughout that time, he was prominent and active in the medical community and the John Muir/Mt. Diablo Hospital medical staff. He served on numerous medical, ethical and educational committees, and worked tirelessly in establishing the Wellness Community, Hospice and other cancerrelated organizations. He was the consummate physician, teacher, lecturer and researcher, not only in his chosen field of Radiation Oncology, but in many other areas as well. He was well-liked and respected, unpretentious, friendly and outgoing and could carry on and enjoy a conversation with everyone from grocery clerks to Nobel Laureates. Not being satisfied with his lack of patient contact, he “unretired” and pursued locum tenens work until March 2014 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Aside from his love of medicine, he was a man of many talents and interests. He was an avid reader and owned upwards of 7,000 books in his personal home library, regularly attended 2 book clubs, to which he belonged for years. He loved all genre of music from head-banging at a Rush concert to the San Francisco and other famous Symphony Orchestras, plays from Shakespeare to Mahmet, films of all types, attending and playing sports, outdoor adventures including trekking in Nepal to walking in the Contra Costa/Mt. Diablo countryside, snorkeling, traveling to more than 70 countries, cruising, cycling, was an expert on wine, and held every office, including being virtually a permanent member of the Board of Directors, of the Society of Medical Friends of Wine. In short, he led an exceptional life, and had a passion for life and everything he undertook to accomplish. He had high values and a strong sense of duty. Through his actions, his achievements and his influences, he made the world a better place. He was a true Mensch in every sense of the word.

He was a member of Temple Beth Abraham, Oakland, and has been a prominent and vocal supporter of Judaism, Israel, and Jewish organizations and causes his entire life, from national organizations such as APAIC to the JCC and other local groups.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Dorothy and Ben Maccabee, Civil Engineer, and his brother, Lee Maccabee, Electrical Engineer. He is survived by his loving wife, Judith Craddick Maccabee, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge, his 3 children, David Maccabee, MD, Daniel Maccabee and Dina Maccabee, his 3 grandchildren, Teryn, Noa and Ori, his daughters-inlaw, Mendy Maccabee, MD and Beth Megill Maccabee, sister and brother-in-law, Halaine and J. Holt Rose, MD, sister, Judith Eve Maccabee, brother and sister-inlaw, Dan Maccabee, JD and Donna Desmond Maccabee, JD, niece and nephew, Jason and Samantha Maccabee and his wife Judy’s son, Paul Craddick, daughter-inlaw, Hannah and grandson, Soren. He will be sorely missed by his family and his many friends.

For anyone who wishes to make a donation in his memory, the family requests that you consider Contra Costa Jewish Day School, Lafayette, CA, Israeli Air Force Foundation, UC San Francisco Medical School Cancer Research Department and Hospice of the East Bay.