Obituary of Henry N. Claman

Dr. Henry N. Claman was a 3rd generation physician and a second generation allergist. He attended Harvard College and the New York University School of Medicine. He completed training in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital and at the Massachusetts General Hospital; completed his military duties as Head of Allergy at the U.S. Army Hospital in Ft. Meade, Maryland and then moved to Denver in 1961 to work with Dr. Talmage in the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. In 1966, Henry and colleagues published the seminal observation that cellular cooperation between lymphocytes from the bone marrow and those from the thymus was essential for antibody production, the beginning of our understanding of T-B collaboration in immunology. In 2004, this article was highlighted in the Journal of Immunology as a “Pillar of Immunology”. Henry served as Head of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; was on a variety of prestigious editorial boards and received a number of awards, including the Sulzberger Prize from the American Dermatologic Society, the Besredka Prize of the Foundation Franco-Allemande (for Immunology), the Chairman’s Award of the Department of Medicine and the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation (Denver) Award for Achievement in Science. In his later years, Henry founded the Arts and Humanities in Healthcare Program at the University, integrating the arts, literature and reflective writing into the medical education curriculum and was the founding editor of THE HUMAN TOUCH, an annual anthology of poetry, prose and photography from the University of Colorado Denver medical campus. Henry was also involved in the community beyond the University, serving on the Board of Directors of Temple Emanuel, the Rocky Mountain Harvard Club, and as the President of the Denver Institute for Jewish Studies. Also during these later years Henry, was appointed a Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Immunology, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado in 2014, and received the Thomas Jefferson Award of the University of Colorado, one of the University’s highest honors. Dr. Henry Claman, Denver; Husband of Janet Claman; Father of David (Sunita Vatuk) Claman, NY, the late Jenny Claman, and the late Ruth Claman; Brother of Victor (Priscilla) Claman, MA; Service, Monday, 10:30am, Temple Emanuel-Feiner Chapel, 51 Grape Street; Due to the holiday, interment is Tuesday, 9:30am, Emanuel Cemetery; Contributions to The Denver Hospice, Friends of Chamber Music, or Temple Emanuel