Barry Stupine, former leader of Penn’s veterinary school and hospital, dies at 78

Barry Stupine, 78, of Rydal, a former leader of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine and its Ryan Veterinary Hospital, died Wednesday, May 6, at his home of amyloidosis, a buildup of an abnormal protein in the body.

Mr. Stupine was diagnosed with the disease in 2018. He remained active until last summer.

From 1978 until his retirement in 2009, Mr. Stupine was associate and then vice dean for administration and finance at the School of Veterinary Medicine. At the same time, he directed Ryan Veterinary Hospital. Both are in West Philadelphia.

He helped to expand and improve the vet school, said Alan Kelly, the school’s former dean, who retired in 2005. The two men worked together.

“The School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania owe Barry an enormous debt of gratitude for the innumerable ways he made Penn a better place,” Kelly said. “We all miss him and treasure his memory.”

Mr. Stupine was known for his reports on KYW Radio. For many years, he recorded a message at Thanksgiving and Christmastime saying that giving pets table scraps, especially poultry, might end in a visit to the emergency room. He hoped to lighten the patient load, he said, “so that my doctors and nurses can spend the holiday at home with their families.”

While leading the school and hospital, he held positions at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — the one treating people — in budgeting and human resources, and as an assistant to the executive vice president.

Rebecca Brennan Marquardt posted in an online message that she would never forget Mr. Stupine, her former boss at the vet hospital. “He was a wonderful human being and a wonderful boss,” she wrote. “He was such a champion for the nursing staff.”

Born in Wynnefield, he was the son of Evelyn and Irwin Stupine. He graduated from Overbrook High School in 1959, and was a 1964 graduate of Temple University and a 1968 graduate of George Washington University with an MBA in health care administration.

In addition to his work at the vet school, he was a consultant to Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the U.S. Department of Health Institutional Review Board, which works to ensure that human subjects are protected in research. He advised the City of Philadelphia’s Hiring Review Board.

In the 1970s, he was an associate administrator and adjunct lecturer at the Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania. While leading the vet school, he also served as interim vice president of the Penn Dental School.

Active in the community, he was president of the Abington school board, founding president of the Freire Charter School Foundation in Philadelphia, president of Old York Road Temple-Beth Am, and a board member of the Albert Einstein Society. He also helped lead animal welfare groups including the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Mr. Stupine enjoyed sharing his interests with his family. He liked horses, dogs, music, the theater, and following the Philadelphia sports teams.

Son Jeffrey Stupine said his father stood out for his kindness to others. “My father helped inspire, teach, and assist anyone who asked,” his son said. “Many people’s lives and careers were shaped by Barry’s wisdom, teachings, and counsel. He was a role model to many, especially his children.”

“My brother would do anything for anyone. I was his little sister,” said Sharla Feldscher. “I was always so proud of my brother."

Besides his son and sister, he is survived by his wife, Susan Rosenberg Stupine; a daughter, Erika Yablonovitz; and three grandchildren.

Services and burial were Sunday, May 10, at Montefiore Cemetery, Jenkintown.

Donations may be made to Old York Road Temple-Beth Am, 971 Old York Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001, or to Albert Einstein Society, c/o Einstein Healthcare Network, Office of Development, 5501 Old York Rd., Philadelphia, Pa. 19141.