Keck School Loses a Long-Time Benefactor

Richard Henry Zeiss, MD, passed away on June 17, 2024. A resident in internal medicine at the University of Southern California, he later served on the board of the Hastings Foundation, a steadfast and transformational supporter of the Keck School of Medicine. Over six decades, the foundation has donated upwards of $50 million to the Keck School of Medicine of USC to create the Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research and the Hastings and Wright Foundation BSL-III Laboratory, both critical hubs for advancing research and improving pulmonary care for all.

Zeiss was born on February 4, 1942, in Chicago to Chester and Helen Zeiss. He graduated from Morgan Park High School and then the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, graduating with honors in three years. He earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1967 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. After medical school, he served for two years as a major at Walson Army Hospital in Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Zeiss completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Hospital.

In 1973, Dr. Zeiss joined the practice of Drs. Paul Hoagland, Archie Miller, and George Hjelte in Pasadena, which later became the Huntington Medical Foundation, where he remained until retirement in 2011. Zeiss had many treasured patients and colleagues and was widely recognized a leader in his field as a clinician and educator.

He was on staff at Huntington Memorial Hospital and his commitment to serving patients led him to working at the Caltech Health Center during retirement. He was an original director on the Board of the Hastings Foundation, the benefactor of the Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, as well as the Saban Research Center, focused on managing the treatment of animals used in research.

His curiosity extended to the great outdoors of California where he was an avid hiker, fisherman, astronomer, and golfer. He held multiple leadership positions at First United Methodist Church of Pasadena. He spent much of his free time with his children, gardening and enjoying his home of 50 years on Arden Road with special attention to his roses and bluebells. He had a long morning routine caring for his many pets, including tortoises, dogs, cats, and fish.

Dr. Zeiss’s legacy through his clinical work, mentoring, and via the Hastings Foundation’s support of the Keck School of Medicine of USC will continue for generations into the future.