Paul Gerard Organ's Obituary
Paul Gerard Organ, MD, of Oakland California, left planet earth Dec 5, 2022 at the age of 66. Paul was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up in the midst of his four brothers and two sisters, in Omaha Nebraska, graduating from catholic schools St. Philip Neri and Rummel High School. He received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology from Harvard in 1978, where he was co-captain of the Track Team, running 440 hurdles, and working summers with Upward Bound students at Brandeis University. Paul attended Washington University in St. Louis for Medical School, concurrently with brothers Brian and Greg, where he was President for the Class of ‘82. Paul moved to the SF Bay area for his Internship in Medicine and Neurology as well as a Residency in General Psychiatry at Stanford, before returning to Cambridge for a Fellowship in Child Psychiatry. He lived in Phoenix where he worked for Indian Health Service, often flown to reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, a rare doctor of color to serve those Native populations. Paul also had a broad vocational journey as physician, psychiatrist, educator, speaker, and consultant at various institutions around the country. As a physician psychiatrist, he worked with Oakland Children's Hospital, Santa Clara, Veterans Affairs Hospital, Stanford University, and Student Health Services and with the Humboldt County Prison System. As an Educator & Psychiatric Consultant he had Executive Leadership Roles with Howard University's Middle School for Math & Science (MS2), Youth Conservation Corps HS (San Jose), Corporation for Boston (CFB), Apple CORE (ATL), and The Heartwood Institute (No. Calif). Dr. Organ gave countless academic presentatìons to governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and professional societies such as the National Medical Association, and came full circle professionally by returning to Omaha as a prison psychiatrist for the Nebraska Correctional System. A voracious reader across many academic fields & literary genres, Dr. Organ was deeply immersed in the life of the mind. Paul practiced Transcendental Meditation and yoga, and was an engaging storyteller, having written ‘beat’ letters from college, and always came with a journal and datebook in hand. He traveled from the Swiss Alps to Egypt and lived in Belize, always down for any adventure, be it a cross country move, rafting down a river, or living in a yurt. Paul was also a favorite uncle and family documentarian, a jovial presence at birthdays, graduations and weddings, a camera slung over his shoulder, photographing the lives of family and progeny, holding artifacts and curating the archives of our father, often escorting his mother while she lived. Paul is survived by his siblings, Claude (Del Mar), Brian, (Atlanta), Gregory (Oakland), David (Philadelphia), Sandra (Wimberley, TX), and Rita (Indianapolis) along with 10 nieces and nephews, one grand nephew and numerous cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Claude and Elizabeth Mays Organ, formerly of Oakland, CA., Oklahoma City and Omaha. Paul’s life will be celebrated in 2023 in Oakland, CA at a time and place TBD. To get in touch with family, please contact Sandra Organ Solis at [email protected]
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