by stacey palevsky
staff writer
Dr. Ben Colloff was not waiting to die.
In the weeks leading up to his death, the 94-year-old San Franciscan was making plans to volunteer at St. Francis Hospital and to renew his monthly MUNI senior pass.
“He was never willing to give up,” said Ed Colloff, Ben’s son, who lives in Palo Alto.
Dr. Colloff lived independently until his death April 2. An orthopedic surgeon, he worked well past the typical retirement age, until he was 79. He continued to cook for himself, taught himself how to care for orchids and learned how to use the Internet so he could read newspapers online.
“Curiosity kept his mind really active and young,” said Lauren Colloff, Ben’s other son, who lives near Los Angeles.
His other passion was golf. In 1954, he joined Greenhills Country Club in Millbrae. He one day asked if he could invite a friend to join, and the club staff told him he would have to wait until another Jewish member resigned because the quota for Jewish membership had been surpassed.
“At which point, he resigned and joined Lake Merced,” Ed recalled.
From the time his wife died in 1986 until his 93rd birthday, Ben played several rounds of golf a week.
“People would just be absolutely stunned this man was in his 90s playing golf three or four times a week,” Lauren said.
Ben was born in St. Joseph, Mo. He and his wife, Ruth, moved to San Francisco in 1936. He lived the rest of his life in the city, save the four years he served as an Army surgeon during World War II.
He was a passionate Zionist after the war. He went to Israel many times as a visitor and as a doctor, performing free surgeries for Arab and Israeli patients.
“He devoted as much time as he could to medicine. The rest he devoted to Jewish causes,” Ed said.
He worked for several decades at Mount Zion Hospital — which Ed described
as “his love, his baby” — serving as the chief of orthopedic surgery and chief of staff. He used his success to create several community funds for causes he believed in.
He started a fund at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation for Jewish youth because he was concerned too many were assimilating and losing their connection with Judaism. He revered education, which prompted him to set up a fund at Mount Zion to support education for oncology nurses as well as a fund at the Jewish Home to support nurses’ continuing education.
“He championed what he thought were the right things to do,” Ed said.
He pushed others to do the same. Ben was the kind of man who hated getting into conflicts, but liked watching them unfold. So, at dinner, for instance, he would say something controversial or thought-provoking, then “sit back and watch the sparks fly,” Ed recalled. “He liked to see the conversation flowing.”
He is survived by his sons Lauren and Ed; daughters-in-law, Cathy and Edna; and grandson Shamir.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Sun., June 24 at Lake Merced Golf and Country Club, 2300 Junipero Serra Blvd. in Daly City.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California