July 21, 2004
In Memoriam (Leonid Calenoff)
Leonid Calenoff, MD, professor emeritus of radiology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, died on July 16 in Illinois of complications from esophageal cancer. He was 80.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Dr. Calenoff served as a medic in the Bulgarian Army during World War II. After the war, he studied medicine at the University of Paris, Sorbonne, where his future wife, Miriam, also attended. They were married in 1955 in France and immigrated two years later to the United States.
Dr. Calenoff started his internship at the Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati and moved to Chicago in 1959 to complete residency in radiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). From 1961â64, he taught radiology at UIC’s College of Medicine. After a brief appointment as clinical professor at Chicago Medical School, Dr. Calenoff joined the Northwestern University medical faculty in 1968. Known as an excellent communicator among faculty members, students, and patients, Dr. Calenoff served in a number of different positions during his 33-year tenure, including vice chair of the radiology department and director of the radiology residency program. He was appointed to emeritus status in 2003.
Dr. Calenoff is survived by daughters Jean Zucker and Debbie Lipoff; a brother, Raymond; a sister, Elly Seifert, and three grandsons.