Frederick Robert Schlichting, M.D.
January 14, 1930 - December 13, 2019 Resident of San Jose
Dr. Fred Schlichting, a widely-respected Obstetrician Gynecologist, social justice advocate and legendary prankster, died of cancer at his San Jose home. His wife of 65 years, Muriel, and their six children were all at his side, lovingly and gently bidding him a safe and peaceful journey to heaven. He was 89.
As head of Good Samaritan Hospital’s obstetrics department from the late 1970s into the 1990s, he helped pioneer the use of Maternal Fetal Diagnostic Ultrasound, training more than a thousand doctors to use the fetal monitoring equipment that led to safer pregnancies and healthier deliveries. During the revival of the natural home birth movement, Schlichting -- who believed mothers were safest delivering their babies in a hospital -- led the effort to transition the hospital out of austere clinical settings and into “in-room” deliveries that welcomed fathers, families and midwives to be part of births in more home-like settings.
He was caring and funny and had great empathy for his patients. He was also passionate about social justice. During Cesar Chavez’s crusade for farmworker rights in the 1960s, Schlichting drove to Salinas after work once a week to run an obstetrics clinic and deliver farmworkers’ babies, often not returning to San Jose until 1 a.m.
As revered as he was as an OB/GYN, he was beloved as a good friend with a playful sense of humor and quick wit. He was known to do a back flip off a table at a party and make people laugh until it hurt. His practical jokes spanned decades, staged when one of his close friends was moving into a new home. He sent a marching band to parade through the Rose Garden home of Marc and Terry Poche. He lit a bonfire in the Los Gatos driveway of his medical practice partner, Howard Christopher, and rented a fire truck filled with party goers to put it out. He sent an exterminator to the Saratoga home of then-Judge Jerry Smith to warn of a termite infestation and then waved in dozens of friends hiding in the freshly-painted termite truck. He was the definition of pure joy and zest for life.
Fred was a lifelong golfer and proud of his famous four holes-in-one. A member at Pasatiempo Golf Course, he played weekly with his best buddies Drs. Bill Hammack, Bill Hoag and Dave Safir.
Born in So. St. Paul, Minn., to Ida and Frederick Schlichting, he attended St. Thomas Military Academy where he met his lifelong best friend, Jack Delaney, who preceded him in death by three weeks. While in high school, Schlichting earned the rare twin honor of being named Cadet Colonel and Captain of the Crack Drill Squad. He met his future wife, Muriel Francis, when he spotted her picture in the local paper as homecoming queen at South St. Paul High School and asked her out. After their first date, he told his friends, “it was all over.” He spent the rest of his life madly in love with his sweetheart. Schlichting was so renown at his alma mater that years later, on one of numerous trips home for a class reunion, he was greeted at the airport by the academy’s marching band, Fred’s fan club of friends and a local TV crew.
He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1952 and University of Minnesota Medical School in 1956. He interned and did his residency at Santa Clara County Hospital and, in 1957, served in the U.S. Army at Ft. Ord. The young couple made San Jose their home, moving into the Rose Garden neighborhood in 1967. They made many trips home to So. St. Paul to visit friends and relatives and enjoyed travelling, including a recent Scandanavian cruise with his wife and all six children.
In 1960, he joined Dr. Howard Christopher in private practice and was one of the founding doctors when Good Samaritan Hospital opened in 1965. Over the years, Dr. Schlichting was named president of the Shufelt Society and president of the Peninsula OB/GYN Society. He taught at Stanford University as an associate professor before retiring from medicine in 1989.
His happy place was the family beach house in Aptos, where some of his best parties were held and family and friends toasted the sunset.
He lived a faith-filled life and was a longtime parishioner of St. Martin of Tours. His devotion to his faith was evident in his daily actions, walking the path of the Good Samaritan.
He is survived by his wife, Muriel, and their six children: Anne Mercer (Mark), Clare Ullman (Dana), Fritz Schlichting, Mary Schlichting, Joan Guthrie (Spencer), and John Schlichting; nine grandchildren: Andrew and Molly Mercer, Jacob Ullman, Zane Schlichting, Nicholas, Forrest and Buck Guthrie, Emma and John Schlichting and two great-grandchildren: Lily and Francis.
A final thank you to the special team of doctors and nurses at Kaiser who gently and so personally cared for our father.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 4 at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, 200
O’Connor Drive, San Jose.