Kauvar, Abraham J., 1915-2003

Abraham Judah Kauvar was born in Denver, Colorado on May 8, 1915, the son of Rabbi Charles Eliezer Hillel Kauvar and Belle Bluestone Kauvar. Rabbi Kauvar was Rabbi at the Beth Hamedrosh Hagadol-Beth Joseph (BMH-BJ) Synagogue from 1902 to 1971, and a member of the University of Denver faculty for many years. Dr. Abraham Kauvar graduated from the University of Denver in 1935 and received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1939 from the University of Chicago. He did post-doctoral work at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the Mayo Clinic. He served with the United States Army Medical Corp for a number of years before returning to Denver where he practiced internal medicine and gastroenterology. Dr. Kauvar and his wife Jean have four children--Kenneth, Jane, Lawrence, and David.

Dr. Kauvar was Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of the University of Colorado Medical School and also conducted research at the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research. In 1965 he was instrumental in creating the Neighborhood Health Program, a prototype for similar programs in the United States. Dr. Kauvar was the head of the Health and Hospitals agencies in Denver and in New York, head of the Davis Institute for the Care and Study of the Aging, and was the Goodstein Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. In 1987, the A. J. Kauvar Foundation, which is dedicated to discovering and helping to fulfill the health care needs of the elderly, was created to honor Dr. Kauvar. Dr. Kauvar received numerous awards for his service to the community.

Dr. Kauvar passed away in 2003. He is survived by his wife and children.

From the guide to the Abraham J. Kauvar papers, 1930-1998, (Ira M. Beck Memorial Archives, Special Collections and Archives, Penrose Library, University of Denver, 2150 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80208-2007)