Richard P. Albertson, retired anesthesiologist and former president of the Lankenau Hospital medical staff, has died at 87

Richard P. Albertson, 87, of Wynnewood, retired anesthesiologist, former president of the medical staff at Lankenau Hospital, international medical volunteer, veteran, and philanthropist, died Thursday, June 13, of a pulmonary embolism at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

Inspired by his future father-in-law, also a physician, to pursue medicine, Dr. Albertson graduated from medical school at Temple University in 1963 and embarked on a 40-year career at Lankenau that was highlighted by his leadership of its medical staff, the creation of its School of Anesthesia for Nurses, and its merger in 1984 with Bryn Mawr Hospital.

He helped the hospital expand its staff, address escalating costs, develop a two-year anesthesia nursing program in conjunction with St. Joseph’s University, and merge resources and goals with Bryn Mawr to create Main Line Health System. “He was,” said his daughter Ann-Michelle, “a physician for life.”

Dr. Albertson also served as president of the Montgomery County Medical Society and Temple Medical School Alumni Association, and was on the board of directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists for two decades. He was president of the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists in 1984 and ‘85, and earned its 2001 Distinguished Service Award for “outstanding clinical, educational or scientific achievement, and exemplary service to the Society.”

He funded service grants, scholarships, and building projects at the Temple medical school for decades, and cofounded the Medical Class of 1963 Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2003. His philanthropy was featured in stories in 2003 and 2010 in Temple Medicine magazine, and he said in 2003: “Time flies, and so much about medicine has changed. But, at Temple, the most important thing about medicine, the philosophy of respect for the patient, has not changed.”

He was a director for the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross and spent his 1972 vacation time in Wilkes-Barre and Dallas, Pa., helping those affected by Hurricane Agnes. He also volunteered to train doctors and nurses in new technology, and treat underserved patients in Guyana, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

He served as a captain in the Army and Army Reserve in the 1960s and ‘70s, and worked often at the 300th Army Reserve Field Hospital in Ashley, Pa. “He was larger than life,” said his daughter Ann-Michelle. “He was 100% my best friend.”

Richard Potter Albertson was born Nov. 23, 1936, in East Orange, N.J. He grew up in Cranford, N.J., and spent memorable summer vacations with his family in Manasquan, N.J.

He played basketball in high school, collected dozens of baseball player autographs, stocked shelves at the local grocery store, and earned Eagle Scout status as a teenager. He graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1950s and completed an internship at Lankenau and residency in anesthesia at Temple after medical school. He also took classes in science and Spanish at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

He met Charlotte Ann Sutula at Smokey Joe’s bar on the Penn campus, and they married in 1961, adopted daughters Ann-Michelle and Kristin, and son Peter, and lived in Wynnewood. They also enjoyed time with family and friends at homes in Harveys Lake, near Wilkes-Barre, and Marco Island, Fla.

Dr. Albertson had season tickets to the Flyers for years and followed the Phillies, Eagles, and New York Yankees closely. He played tennis, was serious about golf and bridge, and rowed for the Bachelors Barge Club.

He belonged to the Masons and Shriners, was generally jovial, and served as a lector and eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Victory Church in Harveys Lake. “His faith guided his medical career,” his family said in a tribute. “It helped him create and stand by moral boundaries with a stringent ethical approach.”

He was president of the Alpha Tau Omega Foundation, and college friends at Penn called him Moose because he was 6-foot-6. Later, classmates at Temple medical school voted him their most likely to succeed. Longtime friend Terry Gilheany called him a “gentle giant” and “one of the sweetest people I have ever known.”

He watched MASH on TV with his daughter Kristin, played golf with his daughter Ann-Michelle, and he and his wife took cruises and traveled to Europe, South America, China, Asia, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere.

He made it a point to attend every Class of 1963 reunion at Temple medical school and said in 2010, “I haven’t missed a reunion yet, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at our 50th in 2013.”

His daughter Kristin said: “He greatly enjoyed his grandkids, and I am very thankful that he was around for so much of their childhood.”

His wife said: “He had high moral values for what he believed in.”

In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Albertson is survived by seven grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

Visitation with the family is to be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Presentation Blessed Virgin Mary Church, 240 Haverford Ave., Wynnewood, Pa. 19096. A Mass and subsequent celebration of his life are to follow.

Donations in his name may be made to Lankenau Hospital Institute for Medical Research, 240 N. Radnor Chester Rd., Suite 340, Radnor, Pa. 19087; St. Ann’s Monastery and Shrine Basilica, 1233 St. Ann St., Scranton, Pa. 18504; and the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, 333 E. Lancaster Ave., No. 414, Wynnewood, Pa. 19096.