Alan Jay Greenfield, M.D.

Age 70, of Boston, Plymouth, and Palm Springs, CA, passed away peacefully from complications of kidney disease on October 9, 2014. He was a distinguished interventional and vascular radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and several other leading hospitals; a respected source of knowledge and recommendations for his colleagues; and a tech support resource for all during the infancy of personal computers.  Alan was a reviewer for multiple journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine; a committee member and committee chairman of various radiology societies; wrote or contributed to over 60 refereed publications in radiology journals; and made numerous presentations for both clinical education and research symposia.  He loved to teach, and mentored many medical students who are now in positions of prominence nationwide; his enthusiasm for vascular radiology attracted many young physicians to the field. Alan was born and raised in Highland Park, NJ where he graduated from Lafayette Elementary and Highland Park High Schools.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University and earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University.  He then served in the US Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health.  After completing his Residency and Fellowship at MGH, his 40-year medical career continued at MGH, Morristown (NJ) Memorial Hospital, Boston University Medical Center, and Tufts New England Medical Center.  He returned to MGH in 2000 until he retired in 2013. He was an accomplished choral singer since his college days, performing and touring with a variety of groups including the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Handel & Haydn Society, New York City and Boston Gay Men’s Choruses, Newton Choral Society, Coro Allegro, Chorus pro Musica and the New World Chorale. He will be fondly missed by his devoted husband, G.P. Paul Kowal, and their Maltese-Yorkie twins, Katy and Gaga; his beloved children, Jessica Greenfield (Hummel) and Ely Greenfield, and their mother Harriet Greenfield; his cherished grandchildren, Hannah and Theo Hummel, and Tavi and Emilia Greenfield; and his loving sister, Donna Greenfield Belser. A celebration of Alan’s life will be held in the Levy Auditorium at Temple Israel of Boston on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 1:30 pm (parking on the Riverway).  The family will be at the home of Jessica Greenfield on Monday 11/24 from 10am – 3pm and Tuesday 11/25 from 4- 7pm.  Please send contributions in his memory to the MGH Division of Nephrology Renal Unit Research Fund, Bigelow 1008, 55 Fruit St., Boston 02114.