Henry Sherk, 81, orthopedic surgeon

Dr. Henry H. Sherk, 81, a surgeon noted for using lasers in orthopedic operations who was the son and grandson of physicians, died Monday, April 9, of cancer at his Philadelphia home.

"He was the first surgeon in the region to use lasers in orthopedic operations," a daughter, Katherine Simons, said in a phone interview.

"I think he thought it would be a cleaner, more precise way to perform certain surgeries, especially on the back."

Dr. Sherk was a founding member, in 1973, of the Cervical Spine Research Society and for a time was its president.

In 1990, his daughter said, Lippincott published his book Lasers in Orthopaedics.

"He treated a lot of children with spina bifida, which led to his further research and interest in the spine," she said.

In 2008, he wrote Getting It Straight: A History of American Orthopedics to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Dr. Sherk's grandfather, Henry H. Sherk, built a house in the 2600 block of Westfield Avenue in Camden, Simons said, where the grandfather lived and practiced medicine.

She said Dr. Sherk, his father, Abraham L. Sherk, and his grandfather Henry "practiced medicine out of that building for 100 years," from 1881 to 1984.

His father and grandfather lived there, she said, but the building began to house only the family's medical offices when her father was 4 years old.

In 1984, Dr. Sherk became a professor of surgery, chief of orthopedics, and residency director at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, now part of Drexel University.

"He retired from surgery in 2008, but continued to teach medical students until earlier this year," she said.

Born in Camden, Dr. Sherk graduated from Episcopal Academy in 1948, where he was president of his class for all four years.

After earning a bachelor's degree in biology at Princeton University in 1952, he earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1956, from which his father and grandfather had graduated.

After serving as a surgeon in the Naval Reserve from 1962 to 1964, he practiced at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

But he worked primarily at what is now Cooper University Hospital in Camden from 1965 to 1984. For a time, he was president of the hospital medical staff.

He was a member of the Camden County Medical Society from 1964 to 2012 and its president in 2001.

And he was an associate editor of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

In addition to his daughter Katherine Simons, Dr. Sherk is survived by his wife, Lea; daughters Mary Shimer and Julia Logan; a sister; a brother; and 10 grandchildren.

The funeral was set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at Christ Church, Second Street north of Market Street.