The Society honors the memory of Hans Otto Lobel, M.D., a former Society member who passed away on September 11.
Hans died peacefully at home in the loving arms of his wife, Claire Powell Lobel. All who knew Hans Lobel were aware of his great love for his family, friends, dogs, and sailing. He lived his 85 years merging these with a passion for travel, science, and healing.
He studied and worked extensively in the field of infectious diseases (malaria and hepatitis) at the University of Leiden and as assistant to the chief medical officer of Public Health in the Hague. In 1963, he decided to go to the US to earn an MPH from Yale.
Hans went to the CDC to discuss hepatitis and was offered a job with a field program to develop infectious disease programs at health departments in the southeastern US and was stationed in Huntsville, Alabama. While in Huntsville he was contacted by the chief of the hepatitis surveillance unit of the Epidemiology Branch at CDC who offered him a position, including enrollment in the EIS.
In 1966, there was an increasing number of malaria cases in military personnel returning from the war in Vietnam, making it necessary for the CDC to develop a surveillance system of malaria in the US. As the obit states, Hans was appointed as the first full time CDC officer for malaria surveillance
Hans leaves behind his devoted wife of 30 years, Claire; his son, Robert W. Lobel, M.D., of Albany, NY; five grandchildren: Jonathan Lobel (Lisa) and their three children of the Czech Republic; Beata Lobel, M.D. of Hartford, CT; Amanda Lobel of Switzerland; Erica Lobel of Hartford, CT; Peter Lobel of Hanover, NH; and his beloved sister-in-law Dieuwke Janssen van Raay and his nieces and nephews, all of the Netherlands. He was predeceased by his first wife, Beata Janssen van Raay, M.D.
He was born on April 24,1930, to his Dutch mother, Johanna Goverdina Lobel in Hannover, Germany. Hans grew up in Amersfoort, Holland after fleeing from Nazi Germany in 1933. During the German occupation his mother was a member of the Resistance and hid university students and downed Canadian pilots in the attic. One of the students taught young Hans to play chess, which he grew to love. During his teen and college years, he hitch hiked throughout Europe and the U.S. NBC producers learned of his adventures and he appeared on the Today Show, hosted by Dave Garroway.
Hans graduated from medical school at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands, in 1958, followed by a residency in cardiology at the Bronovo Hospital in The Hague. He held an Epidemiology Residency in Albany, NY before completing his MPH at Yale in 1964. At this time Hans, his late wife and young son emigrated to the U.S. and became naturalized citizens. In 1966 Hans was appointed the first full-time CDC officer for malaria surveillance which led to a career as a world renowned malaria specialist. During a period of advisement to the Peace Corps, Hans was moved to protect the health of all travelers from infectious disease and subsequently worked with Robert Steffen of Zurich to establish the International Society of Travel Medicine.
A loyal friend and avid traveler with many a story to tell, Hans’s will be missed by his dimpled smile, which simply lit up the room.