Dr. Edward J. Stemmler

Edward J. Stemmler, M.D.

Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Edward Joseph Stemmler, age 93, passed away on January 3, 2023, in the arms of his loving wife, Joan.  He was preceded in death by his two sisters, Carol Stemmler and Dorothy Maurer; brother, Robert and by his parents, Josephine and Edward Stemmler.  He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dr. Joan K. Stemmler; their five children, Beth (and husband Clark Porter), Peggy (and husband Patrick Liu, deceased), Ed, Cathy, and Joan; five grandsons, Jasper Liu, Daniel Porter, Benjamin Liu, Matthew Porter and Joshua Taibbi. 

Dr. Stemmler was born on February 15, 1929, in Philadelphia, PA.  After earning a B.A. from La Salle College in 1950, Dr. Stemmler served at the rank of Sergeant First-Class with the 401st Chemical Service Intelligence Detachment in Korea.  He returned from the military in 1953.  After three years of employment with his father at an auto parts store, he entered the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1956.  Graduating in 1960, he completed an internship and residency in Medicine and a Fellowship in Cardiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania followed by a Post-Doctoral NIH Fellowship in Pulmonary Physiology in the Graduate Department of Physiology of the University. 

He was appointed as an Instructor in Medicine in 1964 and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1974.  In 1981 he was named the first incumbent of the Robert G. Dunlop Professorship in Medicine 

Dr. Stemmler assumed many administrative responsibilities.  He served for two years as the Chief of the Medical Outpatient Department of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and for six years as Chief of Medicine of the University Medical Service at the VA Hospital in Philadelphia, a service that he established in 1966.  He served as Associate Dean for the University Hospital in 1973 and Associate Dean for Student Affairs from 1973 until 1975. 

He was appointed Acting Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1974 and Dean in 1975.  During his tenure as Dean, innovative academic policies and programs were developed.  Dr. Stemmler led the establishment of the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania and the Clinical Educator Faculty track.  He led the development of academic and institutional planning systems, which helped the School of Medicine prosper.  He championed biomedical research through a time of tremendous growth and supported the construction and modernization of academic, research, and clinical facilities.  Throughout his career he was a strong advocate for medical students and medical education.  

Dr. Stemmler served as Dean until 1988 when he resigned to assume the full-time role as Executive Vice President, charged to create a new entity, the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.  He served as the head of the Center until 1989.  He was named Dean Emeritus by the University Trustees in 1989.  He retired from Penn in 1990 when he assumed the position of Executive Vice President of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in Washington, DC.  He retired from the AAMC in 1994. 

Dr. Stemmler engaged in extensive professional and community activities.  Among those of note are more than a dozen Advisory or Consultative Committees of schools of medicine.  He served as a member of the National Advisory Committee to the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and its Generalist Initiative.  He served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health.  He was a Past Chairman of the Assembly of the AAMC and a Distinguished Service Member of that organization.  He was a Past Chairman of the Board of the National Board of Medical Examiners and was named a Distinguished Service Member of that Board. 

Dr. Stemmler retired from the Board of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceutical Company in 1996 and from the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust in 2000, but continued to serve on the Board of the SAW Community Foundation until 2005 and the Board of the AHC Community Foundation until 2008.  He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Ursinus College in 2006 when he retired and was named Trustee Emeritus.  Dr. Stemmler served as member of the Board of Visitors of the University of California Medical Center, Davis, until 2008 and on the Medical Center Operating Board of the University of Virginia from 2004 until 2010. 

He was a Treasurer Emeritus and Master of the American College of Physicians, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science and a Past President and member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. 

Dr. Stemmler received honorary degrees from Ursinus College, La Salle University, Rush University, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, the Medical College of Pennsylvania, the State University of New York at Syracuse and Georgetown University.  He was a recipient of Lifetime Achievement and Distinguished Graduate Awards from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 

Dr. Stemmler was recognized as a valued and experienced counselor and advisor.  He was an advocate for the freedom of education and the preservation of academic values in an era of the commercialization of medicine 

Dr. Stemmler’s family knew him as a loving father and husband.  Ed met Joan on a blind date when Joan was a college senior at the University of Pennsylvania. Before they married, Joan worked with polio patients as a physical therapist in Boston and biked and worked in Europe.  They married in 1958 after Ed enrolled in medical school.  Throughout their marriage and raising five children, Joan supported the family and Ed’s career.  He supported Joan when she returned to graduate school to pursue an M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History and her work as a scholar and educator. 

Family memories include singing in the car, camping and day trips to state parks and cleaning the house on Saturday mornings.  Ed loved to fish, and many of his children remember rising at dawn to fish with dad on the lake at Lake Shore Farms in NH.  He was the family handyman, jack-of-all trades, and “techie”, as he was always up to date with the latest gadgets. 

Ed and Joan loved nature, dancing, music, good food and wine.  The ritual of completing the New York Times puzzle was one constant of their relationship.  In their years of retirement, Ed and Joan shared a love of their home in the VA woods, and time spent with Ed fly fishing and Joan painting.  During this time, Ed found he enjoyed cooking some dishes, and partnered with Joan’s expert cooking and baking to prepare memorable meals.  Joan and Ed moved to the Kendal at Longwood in 2012.  At Kendal, they were surrounded by a warm community and many friends.  Ed pursued his love of education until his final year, taking continuing education courses in diverse areas such as astrophysics, quantum mechanics and religion.  Throughout life he encouraged his children to learn something new every day. 

An important aspect of Ed’s personality was his ability to make others feel valued, regardless of status. Never driven by material gains, his ethical and humble approach to life permeated his interactions with others.  Ed’s hellos, chats, and connections with store clerks to colleagues characterized his kind and welcoming approach to life.  He was always willing to advise and support individuals in need who were directed his way by the family who could call upon him when a friend’s mother’s hairdresser’s boyfriend’s granny had questions about her surgery, and he would get in touch to listen and lend a hand. He is remembered as an avid fisherman, a gadget guy, a handyman, a lover of jokes, a cinephile, a reader of biographies and as a physician with a concern and love for people.  

Ed’s vibrant and positive personality will be sorely missed by his family and close friends.  The family is comforted that he passed without pain and in Joan’s arms. 

A private memorial gathering for close friends, family, and the Kendal community will be held at Kendal. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Residents or Staff Assistance Funds at Kendal or to the Joan K. Stemmler and Edward J. Stemmler Endowed Scholarship at the University of Pennsylvania Stemmler Scholarship Fund.  For the latter, checks may be made out to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania; include in memory of Edward J. Stemmler, on the memo line. Please send Attn: Laura Weber, Penn Arts & Science Advancement, 3600 Market St., Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19104.