In Memoriam
In memoriam is a page to read featured obituaries of Northwestern alumni, faculty and staff. Visit Remembrances to read memorials of Northwestern community members submitted by their family or peers. Please send obituaries to alums@northwestern.edu.
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Justin Allen Zivin ’67, ’70 MS, ’71 PhD, ’72 MD, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Feb. 17, 2018, at age 71. Dr. Zivin dedicated his career to identifying treatments for stroke, specifically the use of tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, for treatment of ischemic stroke when appropriate. He encouraged the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to change the paradigm for clinical stroke research, organizing a study that required a complete rethinking of how stroke care is managed. His work on tPA paved the way for Food and Drug Administration approval, and tPA is currently the only internationally approved treatment for this condition. He published his first paper on the use of tPA in Science in 1985. The drug was first approved for stroke in 1996. He co-wrote tPA for Stroke: The Story of a Controversial Drug (2010) with John Galbraith Simmons ’71. Dr. Zivin is survived by his wife, Reni-Zoe; two daughters, Kara and Leslie; four grandchildren; and a sister, Linda.
Michael Witwer ’67 MD, ’73 GME, Santa Rosa, Calif., Sept. 25, 2017, at age 76.
A battalion surgeon in the Vietnam War, Dr. Witwer received a U.S. Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” for providing medical support to his unit under fire. He also earned a reputation as a “battlefield stork” for delivering babies and providing medical care to local villagers.
After returning stateside, he began a medical career in infectious diseases. He ran a private practice and taught at the University of California, San Francisco.
Despite serious leg injuries from Vietnam, Dr. Witwer became a long-distance runner, completing more than 100 marathons and 50 ultramarathons. He also co-founded a charity run for cancer research that raised $300,000 over a decade.
He is survived by his wife, Carol; children, Julia, Michael, Vincent and Elizabeth; brothers Samuel and David; and a sister, Carole.