Dr. Juraj "George" Osterman

Dr. Juraj “George” Osterman, husband of the late Neda Kralj Osterman, passed away at home on September 4, 2022. He was born in Zagreb, Croatia to Juraj Z. L. Osterman and Olga Zupan Osterman. His mother and maternal grandparents were teachers. George lost his father at the end of World War II when he was only 8 years old and missed him dearly for the rest of his life. While attending high school, he lived with his uncle, Dr. Slavko Zupan, who was a surgeon, and aunt, Andjelka Osterman Zupan. In addition to his mother, they profoundly influenced his personal development and interest in science and medicine. After graduating as Valedictorian of his high school class, he entered the University of Zagreb School of Medicine. Unfortunately, his aunt and uncle passed away when George was in his first year of medical school. Despite these tragic losses which caused him tremendous suffering, remarkably he graduated at the top of his medical school class. As a medical student, George was fortunate to receive a personal stipend from Dr. M. Zoricic, the retired Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands. In addition to be being eternally grateful to Dr. Zoricic for his generosity, George was humbled by the fact that a person of such stature expressed interest and found time to meet with him on many occasions to share his rich life experiences. Without a doubt, Dr. Zoricic was the most impressive person George ever met. Dr. Osterman joined the Department of Physiology of his medical school, where he taught medical students and performed basic science research. He also completed his Master of Science degree in Experimental Biology and Ph.D. degree in Physiology there. In 1969, George came to the United States to join Dr. Paul Fritz at Pennsylvania State University, Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA to work on a medical research project funded by the American Cancer Society. Shortly thereafter, he received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. The next year, his wife and daughter moved to Hershey to join him, and they made the difficult decision to remain in the US permanently, leaving behind their entire lives in Croatia in order to escape impending Communist oppression. At Hershey Medical Center, George completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism. He was Board certified in both Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolism. In 1978, Dr. Osterman moved with his family to Columbia, SC to join the Department of Medicine and Division of Endocrinology at the newly founded University of South Carolina School of Medicine and Dorn VA Medical Center. For the next 34 years, he worked in harmony and collaborated in teaching, medical research, and clinical practice with his colleagues, Drs. Howard Nankin and Tu Lin. Their basic science and clinical research, focusing on hormonal regulation of metabolism, was primarily funded by the VA Research Service and resulted in many scientific publications. They also established a subspecialty training fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism that graduated more than 50 endocrinologists and has been the longest running fellowship at USC School of Medicine. Dr. Osterman was promoted to Professor of Clinical Medicine in 1985. He lectured in several courses, including Biochemistry and Pathophysiology, and was Director of the Physical Diagnosis course for 5 years. He received the Faculty Teaching Award by the Internal Medicine residents in 2002. In total, Dr. Osterman was instrumental in the education and training of more than 500 Internal Medicine residents and 3,000 medical students. As a physician, George was adored by all his patients, to whom he dedicated himself completely and treated with the utmost compassion, care, and respect. He loved medical practice and personally called his patients after their office visits. It is not at all surprising that he continued working full-time until the age of 75. He also encountered several patients with extremely rare and puzzling conditions, whom he studied with the help of colleagues at several top US medical institutions to find the answers and then publish their findings to help others in the future who were afflicted with the same diseases. He was the consummate doctor, master clinician, scholar, and gentleman. Dr. Osterman served on several USC School of Medicine and Dorn VA Medical Center committees. The Provost of USC appointed him to serve for 3 years on a 3-member committee that evaluated and selected the winner of the most prestigious yearly USC Research Award. George was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and Endocrine Society and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Society of Andrology, and Columbia Medical Society. He was a staff member at Richland Memorial Hospital and Dorn VA Medical Center. At Richland Memorial Hospital, he served for 2 years as Chief of the Department of Medicine and for 6 years as Medical Director of a supervised Weight Management Program that enrolled more than 900 patients. As a medical student in Croatia, George met his colleague, first girlfriend, and future wife, Neda Kralj, whom he married shortly after graduating. They had a happy marriage for more than 58 years and were blessed with 2 wonderful children, Drs. Maja and Mark (Kimberly) Osterman and 3 precious granddaughters, Lana, Elise, and Charlotte. They were very proud of their children’s academic and professional accomplishments. They loved doting on their adorable granddaughters and spoiling them with hugs, homemade Croatian food, and gifts. George was an incredibly kind, gentle, warm, loving, and humble man. He was truly interested in people and always remembered what they told him. He lived his life with honesty and integrity and never wanted to impose on anyone. He had a wonderfully dry sense of humor and really enjoyed telling jokes. George was a fantastic husband, father, and grandfather who loved his family more than everything else. He instilled important life, work, and moral values in his children which has had an enormous impact on their lives. George loved to travel and especially enjoyed family trips to their native Croatia and its beautiful Adriatic Sea in which he loved swimming. He had diverse interests, including medical history, classical music, opera, foreign languages, and soccer. He had many friends in Croatia and relished visiting with them after his retirement. His love of teaching continued even after retirement, as he regularly attended weekly conferences with the Endocrinology fellows and Medical Grand Rounds with the Internal Medicine residents. George was also a devoted Catholic since childhood and was an alter boy for a number of years. He and his wife were founding members of Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Columbia, SC. He was a very giving and generous person. He was a longtime supporter of numerous Christian, Veterans, disease-related, animal, and local charities. He is preceded in death by his parents and wife. He is survived by his children and grandchildren, as well as his brother, Vladimir (Selvija) Osterman and nephew, Senad Osterman, of Zagreb, Croatia. The Osterman family would like to thank their wonderful friends and neighbors for all their love and support. The family expresses their deepest gratitude and appreciation to the nurses and physicians of Prisma Health Richland Hospital for their compassionate care during his hospitalization. The family would also like to thank Drs. Barry Feldman and Michael Moran for going above and beyond to help George. The family will receive friends on Friday, October 14, 2022 between 6 and 8 o’clock at Shives Funeral Home, 7600 Trenholm Road Extension, Columbia, SC. The funeral mass will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 10 o’clock at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 100 Polo Road, Columbia, SC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to Saint John Neumann Catholic Church, the American Red Cross, a veteran’s charity, or the charity of one’s choice.

Tributes

Dr. Juraj "George" Osterman

December 22, 1936 - September 4, 2022