Leonard Triedman, 91

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NARRAGANSETT, R.I. – Leonard Jason Triedman, M.D., died surrounded by his family on the afternoon of March 19. A loving husband to Cynthia Knapp Triedman for 63 years, Lenny was a devoted father, grandfather and friend to many.

Lenny was born in Pawtucket to Dr. Harry and Charlotte (Freedman) Triedman. He graduated from Moses Brown School in 1946, and from Brown University in 1949 at age 19, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School at age 23. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, during which he was stationed at Otis Air Force Base in Hyannis delivering babies to the wives of enlisted men – earning him the affectionate nickname “The Flying Obstetrician.” After his service, he moved to Boston and married Cynthia, the love of his life. He did his residency in surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and did a fellowship in head and neck surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Lenny then returned home to establish his surgical practice in Providence. Over four decades, he cared for generations of Rhode Islanders, serving on the surgical staff of many Rhode Island hospitals, including The Miriam and Women & Infants hospitals, and was a clinical associate professor of surgery at Brown University Medical School. He and Cynthia raised their children on Providence’s East Side and spent the last 33 years in Narragansett, where the extended family gathered frequently over the years for holidays, summer weekends, and quiet dinners overlooking Narragansett Bay.

Lenny was a driven athlete with a passion for all sports. As a fan, he adored his New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox, and in the ’60s and ’70s, he was the team physician for both the Rhode Island Reds and the Pawtucket Red Sox. At various times, he was a ski patrolman; the R.I. men's tennis state champion; and an avid runner who finished the Boston Marathon numerous times. Among his favorite past-times, especially in his later years, was golf; Lenny was a proud member of the Point Judith Country Club and he traveled to the British Isles, Ireland and the Caribbean to play with family and friends.

Lenny embraced life. He exuded boundless optimism, love and gratitude for what life sent his way, always with an eye toward the "next great thing." He was funny and irreverent, a hopeless charmer, and he got away with just about anything. He made friends wherever he went in the world, and he kept them; he seemed to have a “band of brothers” wherever he went. He was above all else kind, gentle and generous. Many of his friends have remarked that he was “larger than life.” He lit up every room with an irrepressible joy that made people want to be near him. His family loved him so. The world will be a little less bright in his absence.

Leonard leaves his wife, Cynthia Knapp Triedman; five children – Nancy Shalek (James Shalek) of Weston, Massachusetts; John Triedman (Susan Hellerstein) of Brookline, Massachusetts; Kim Triedman (Eric Oldsman) of Arlington, Massachusetts; Scott Triedman (Mary Jo Kaplan) of Providence; and Julie Triedman (Anthony Mace) of Brooklyn, New York; and 15 grandchildren – Alex, Nick, Peter, Hanna, Charlotte, Natalie, Nellie, Sophie, Lucy, Andy, Jamie, Liv, Hal, Cole and Bea, all of whom he absolutely adored. He also had six great-grandchildren. In his final years, he was lovingly cared for by Courtney Whynter, Olayinka Oladele and the people of Wingate Residences on the East Side of Providence and Hope Hospice, to whom we are eternally grateful.

Donations can be made to the Decoff Cancer Institute at the Miriam Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box H, Providence, RI 02901. https://giving.lifespan.org/LCI

obituary, Leonard Triedman