A longtime resident of Stanford, F. Carl Grumet, M.D. died on July 11, 2015 at home at the age of 77 from lymphoma. Carl was born in New York City, N.Y. on October 12, 1937 to the late Rebecca and Louis Grumet. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Rhoda Burns Grumet and daughters Amy Connolly (John) of Palo Alto, Jill Lauren of Scotts Valley, and Nancy Prouty (Devin) of Menlo Park; brother George Grumet (Barbara) of Edison, N.J., brother-in-laws Rob Burns (Lynda) of Piermont, N.Y. and Douglas Burns (Ellen), New York City, NY; nine grandchildren Zachary and Jeremy Rosenbaum, Taylor and Sydney Ginieczki, Caleb and Abby Prouty, and Mark, Ahna, and Elena Connolly; and many loving nieces and nephews.
Carl graduated from Rutgers University ('59 Physics B.S.), Columbia University ('62 Physics, M.S.) and the University of Pennsylvania ('65 Medicine M.D.). As a Professor of Pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine, Carl was the Founding Director of Stanford's Blood Center, Tissue Typing Lab and Transfusion Service; honoree of Departmental named lecture series; co-authored medical publications that significantly affected national transfusion practices; served on NIH and FDA advisory committees; served on national committees of medical professional associations setting standards in transfusion and tissue typing; established and directed the Stanford University Blood Center; was a member of NIH's US-Russian Scientific Exchange program and a consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency. Carl contributed to improving safety of transfused blood (e.g., testing for HIV, CMV, hepatitis); improved compatibility testing in transplantation; helped establish national registries for unrelated marrow donors; contributed to understanding mechanisms underlying genetic control of disease susceptibility; and defined the molecular biology and immune functions of the HLA system.
Carl was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and brother. His greatest joy was spending time with his family, and he embraced the time with his precious grandchildren. In addition to family, Carl found love and support from his community of friends. He was an active member at Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City and a member of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills. Carl was a strong supporter and advocate of Israel and Jewish causes including Hadassah and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
An accomplished yet humble man, Carl was a role model for both family and friends. His easy laugh and sense of humor will be greatly missed. He lived his life with grace, integrity and dignity.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 14, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills with burial following at Skylawn Memorial Park, San Mateo.
Memorial Contributions to Sequoia Chapter of Hadassah, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303; American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (http://www.aipac.org/act/donate); Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 or Congregation Beth Jacob, 1550 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94061 are preferred.