Lawrence Marvin Solomon

October 13th, 2014

Dr. Solomon was unquestionably among the most remarkable people I have known. Little-known fact: the governor of Kentucky appointed Larry to be a Kentucky Colonel. Most people, of course, called him Doctor or Doc, but I usually hailed him first as Colonel Solomon, and he enjoyed the variety.

Many people knew that he liked books, but only relative few could appreciate how fully he was afflicted by the incurable bacillus bibliomania. He had a special talent from his specialty as a dermatologist. He was hyper sensitive to noting – by touch – variations in the characteristics of the cloth covering books, and it was not unusual for him to not a variant or a rebound book by the touch memory of the right cloth versus another cloth.

I recall Larry telling me that he often would be stopped and greeted by patrons in a restaurant who knew him as their physician. Larry said that he often had no idea who these people were – but, if they took off their clothes, he would know who they were.

Dr Larry had a fine sense of humor, and would have enjoyed that story told by another physician, another dermatologist, but he cherished it as his own anecdote.

Dr. Solomon was a successor to the chair of the Dermatology Department of the University of Illinois Hospital, which had previously been occupied by the famed William Allen Pusey, M.D., who also was elected to the Presidency of the American Medical Association. Under Dr. Pusey, the U of I Dermatology Department was considered the foremost department in America. I suggest that the same reputation was upheld by Lawrence M. Solomon, M.D., altho Larry was not the kind of person who would say that, or who felt compelled to “blow his own horn”. He also presided over the Leprosy Clinic at the Illinois Hospital, with compassion and devotion.

One of Larry’s passions was detective fiction. His fondness extended to becoming a member of Hugo’s Companions, one of the Chicago-area societies devoted to the appreciation of Sherlock Holmes. Larry also acquired various memorabilia of Sherlockiana. One element which he could not put on a bookshelf was his memory of meeting Adrian Conan Doyle, Arthur’s son and the co-author of THE EXPLOITS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. Adrian and Larry crossed paths when Larry was studying in Switzerland. As a Canadian, Larry was already multilingual before he traveled to Europe.

He also collected dragons during his travels around the globe giving lectures at dermatology meetings.

Col. Solomon was also passionate about his family. His wife, Mieke, was very dear to him. He was a proud, proud father to his children, and sometimes, it seemed, it would never stop talking about his grandchildren when I wanted to turn the conversation back to books.

His passing leaves a hole in my soul that will not be filled, a hole that will be a consistent reminder of him. Larry was also a life-long fan of ghost stories. It would only be fitting if he came back and haunted me. He is welcome to do so.

~Thomas Joyce
~Friend, Chicago, Illinois

October 11th, 2014

My heart is sad at the loss of my mentor larry solomon. He made me the dermatologist I am today. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of those he influenced.

~moira ariano
~student, winfield