Pediatrician Dr. Jack Segal cared for generations of kids

Shelly Segal can't go out in Memphis without someone recognizing her last name, then asking the question: "'Are you related to him?"

"Then everyone's going to tell me how they know him and how he took care of their babies. It's just amazing how many lives he's touched," she said. "Best man ever."

Her grandfather, Dr. Jack Segal, practiced medicine for 63 years, beginning at a time when doctors made house calls and retiring last year.

Dr. Segal, who inspired many of his young patients to pursue careers in medicine, died Thursday after a short illness. He was (at least) 90.

The family says "at least" because Dr. Segal never knew exactly when he was born. When he arrived in the United States from Poland, an immigration official determined that the boy was 6 years old, and no one challenged that assumption since the family didn't really speak English.

"We knew the day (he was born). We didn't know the year," said his son, David Segal. "Dec. 3, 1920, is where he ended up."

Originally, Dr. Segal planned to become an artist, but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he decided to enroll in medical school. After his time in the Army during both World War II and the Korean War, Dr. Segal returned to Memphis, opening a practice in pediatrics with Dr. Joe Parker. They remained partners for more than 50 years.

Dr. Segal also had been a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences.

"We couldn't go anywhere where one of his patients wouldn't stop and say hello," David Segal said of his father's status as a local celebrity. "He was treating the kids' kids' kids, because he practiced so long."

In fact, he kept treating at least one of those kids for decades.

"I was a patient of his from the time I was a kid until I was about 60 years old," said Martin Grusin, a longtime friend. "He told me I couldn't come see him anymore because it made him feel old."

Dr. Segal was preceded in death by his wife, Esther Segal, and a son, Jay Segal. In addition to his son and granddaughter, Dr. Segal is survived by another son, Howard Segal; a daughter, Rayanne Segal; and five other grandchildren.

Services will be at 11:30 a.m. today at the Levy-Cooper Chapel in Temple Israel Cemetery.