Howard Beckman MD

Howard Beckman was born May 8, 1947, in Boston, MA, and passed at home in Rochester, NY on June 27, 2026, surrounded by his wife and four children. In between, he listened to, learned from, and loved his family, friends and community– and they loved him right back. He had an incredible career as a physician in research, teaching and patient practice. He loved to garden, go to the farmer’s market, fish, cook pancakes and Sunday dinners, golf, ride bikes, play and watch sports. And he felt very lucky to have so much in one lifetime.

Howard was raised and educated in Newton, MA and graduated from Brandeis University. He spent a year in St. Thomas V.I. teaching high school biology before enrolling at Wayne State University Medical School in Detroit in 1970. There he joined the Norman Bethune Collective and committed himself to accessible and equitable health care; values that he would carry through his fifty years of primary care practice and health care administration.

Howard cared deeply about people and knew that centering patients should be at the heart of delivering quality health care. Working in Detroit, he saw the racism and systemic inequities that left too many patients without social and medical services or decision-making power. He came to believe that physicians who were trained humanely would partner more effectively with nurses and support staff, and care for patients more compassionately and respectfully; this pattern would in time shift power and improve patient experiences and health outcomes.

Howard taught residents and medical students to slow down and listen to patients, and he became close to several of his trainees, watching and supporting their careers. Two of his Wayne State residents from the 80s whom Howard remained close to, Herb and Lynn Smitherman, sent an email relaying their sadness at his passing. Lynn recalled, “Howard Beckman thought about resident well-being before it became a mandate by the ACGME!” Herb added, “Howard thought about everyone’s wellbeing. He cared about people. That’s what made him a great person. His humanitarian ethic. And we all have Howard stories that center around this theme.”

Howard was quick to acknowledge the role that colleagues, friends and especially patients played in helping him develop into the practitioner and man he aspired to be. He was grateful, awed and honored to have Rosa Parks as a former patient. Howard was especially blessed with a 50-year friendship with Gladys Stallings beginning in the early 70s– a mother of 9, Paris Peace Talks representative, and the first Black person or Detroiter named as a Michigan Social Worker of the Year. Gladys would say that if God could grant her one more son, it would be Howard. And her wish came to be.

In 1984, he and his research partner and friend, Richard Frankel, published one of their early studies, demonstrating that on average doctors interrupt patients in 18 seconds. This seminal study helped anchor the field of physician-patient communication research and was referenced over 1000 times—from then until now– in academic journals and book chapters. Howard would go on in his long career—at WSU, and later at the University of Rochester, and with national health care systems– to research and publish over 75 papers; his work has been cited over 7500 times.

Howard and his spouse, Ellen, moved their family to Rochester, New York in 1990. Howard was the Chief of Medicine of Highland Hospital for eight years—a place he loved– and kept his patient practice there for another 16. Many of his closest lifelong friendships were formed at Highland. In 1998, Howard became the Medical Director at Rochester Individual Practice Association. Again, collaborating with great colleagues, they used the principles of actionable data to anchor community-wide health care conversations and decisions.

Howard was a two-sport varsity athlete at Brandeis and served as a captain. In most of his professional career, Howard was a leader, but like in college, he was ultimately a team player who valued everyone. He was also highly principled. As several colleagues pointed out, Howard was not afraid of a challenge, and he was more than prepared to fight for what he believed was right and equitable for patients, physicians and health care systems. He also knew how to work between teams to compromise in order to create meaningful progress; together those were rare qualities. Laptops had taken off during the late 90s; Howard found the scroll option for his screen saver and programmed it to run “Honesty, Integrity, Transparency”— values that served him well.

With great success, Howard began consulting for quality improvement with national health care groups in Massachusetts, California, Hawaii, Virginia and other states. He and others were scaling health care improvements using evidenced-based best practice and physician behavioral change. The focus was always on improving patient health care versus decreasing costs– but frequently, both were achieved. Howard strongly believed that given the right information and support, physicians could and desired to improve the delivery of care. Locally, a project that Howard felt proud of was Rochester’s Blood Pressure Coalition housed at Common Ground, a collective impact project funded by employers, hospitals and insurers whose mission was to improve hypertension control community-wide reducing incidences of strokes and heart attacks.

While his career was huge, he never put it above family, the centerpiece of his life. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 40 years Ellen Leopold (who couldn’t imagine a better life partner), and their cherished quartet and spouses: Liza Beckman (Chance Correia), Renee Serifi (Adis), Alice Beckman (Phil Bell) and Micah Beckman-Leopold (Jessie Lewis). In addition, Howard’s legacy includes 8 amazing grandchildren– Uriah, Oriana, Rea, Misha, Alana, Sonia, Talia and Iziah— all of whom he loved in important and individual ways.
He also leaves behind his wonderful brother Steve Beckman (Rachel Ritvo) and their children, and an enviable group of Andelman cousins. He is also held close in the hearts of the Stallings family who kept Howie, Ellen and their kids at the center of their love. Finally, Howard was deeply ensconced in the nest of his in-laws (in-loves) and their offspring Michael (Marcia), Jill (Robert), Jolayne (Brian) and Julie (Paul); Ellen’s family was no more hers than his—and that worked perfectly for all of them.

Howard had a robust friend and colleague group that meant the world to him. They worked together, ate together, biked together, meditated together, traveled together, drank wine together, zoomed High Tea, and supported Howard through highs and lows, especially as his Parkinson’s progressed making life so damn hard. These folks know who they are, and Howard loved them all. If you thought Howard was your friend, he was. If you thought he was an especially close friend or even family, he was. He could not fake it.

Howard was predeceased by his loving parents Louis and Bernice Beckman, who clearly raised him well, his in-loves Jim Sheehan and Beverley McDonald, and three grandbabies, Oliver, Sara and Denis.

In the final months of Howard’s life, he was plagued with cascading health issues related to Parkinson’s. While he never before let the disease define him, it now claimed center stage. He was grateful for the life he had, and was clear that he was ready for it to sunset… But first he wanted to attend his granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah in New Jersey where a huge loving family on both sides would be gathering in celebration. He returned home, got hospice support, and died quietly 12 days later. Just as he hoped, and just as he deserved.

Howard followed his passions, stood up for his principles and demonstrated his values wherever and whenever he could, and this made him extraordinary. To honor Howie please listen to and love one another, resist systems of oppression, care deeply and stand up for those who have less, kick a soccer ball around with some kids, and laugh often. If you have an anecdote about Howard to share, please send it to storiesofhoward@gmail.com.

Before leaving the position of Chief of Medicine at Highland Hospital, his residents collectively presented him with the following exquisitely framed poem, translated into their own languages and scripts, and written on paper indigenous to their home countries:

Just as a judge. Savvy as a snake. Able to see through tall appearances.
Bearded like a Patriarch. Hair of Frederick Douglass.
Humanist of men. Defender of the faith in growth and goodness.
Teacher, Leader, Counselor, Friend.
To his own sitar marching, and kindest of generals to those in the ranks.
For Howard Beckman, our honor, praise and thanks.

From his beloved wife and children, friends and family, and treasured colleagues, thank you Howard for a life that made ours so much better. Our honor, praise and thanks.

A gathering to celebrate Howard’s life will be held at the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University, Rochester, NY 14607 on Wednesday, August 5th from 6-9 pm; a service and community sharing will begin at 6:45pm.

Our gratitude to UR Neurologists, Richard Barbano MD, Benzi Kluger MD, and Nami Shaw MD, who treated Howard not as a PD patient but as a person and helped us navigate so much of Parkinson’s right up to Howard’s death. Deep appreciation to Brian Cohen, Howe’s sometimes companion, and especially to our PCP, Melissa Mroz MD, who added support for Howard and Ellen at all the right times.