Former HMS Prof. Dies at 84

Dr. Louis Zetzel '29, a private practice internist and former long-time faculty member of Harvard Medical School, died last Monday, Sept. 13, in the Newton and Wellesley Alzheimer Center from Parkinson's disease. He was 84.

Zetzel specialized in treating diseases of the digestive tract. He served as chief of gastroenterology at Beth Israel Hospital from 1956 to 1968.

He was also a member of the faculty of the Harvard Medical School from 1939 to 1975, where he served for many years on the admissions committee.

In 1967, he became a clinical professor of medicine at the school. A visiting professorship in gastroenterology was established in his name on his 75th birthday.

After leaving the Medical School, Zetzel continued to practice privately, making house calls to patients until his retirement in 1986 at age 77.

At age 16, Zetzel won a scholarship to attend Harvard College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1934.

Zetzel leaves his wife Geraldine (Kohlenberg); two daughters, Judith Z. Nathanson of Philadelphia and Ellen Z. Lambert of New York; a son, James E.G. Zetzel of New York; two stepchildren, Teresa Kohlenberg of Watertown and Andrew Max Kohlenberg of Providence; three grandchildren and two stepgrandchildren.