Obituary of Richard Propper

The community lost a much loved and valued individual with the death of Richard Propper on May 31. Rich was a longtime Greenwood Village resident and radiologist at Kaiser Permanente. He was 65. He passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Richard is survived by his wife, Susan Propper, and by his son, Ryan Seth (Lilya Mitelman) Propper. Richard was, above all else, a devoted husband and father. He loved to speak about his 39 “beautiful” years of marriage, and he deeply cherished his family. A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, Richard maintained close ties to his alma mater throughout his life. He was one of only 50 graduates in his class to receive the Dean’s recommendation for medical school acceptance. Rich graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. He worked for 30 years as a radiologist for Kaiser Permanente, where he was known as an unfaltering and vigilant advocate for his patients. He was careful and meticulous in his work; his diagnoses improved the lives of thousands of patients. One of his friends, upon learning of his death, stated: “Rich was a beautiful guy. He seemed to epitomize the concept of ‘quiet but strong’. He always spoke with courage, dignity, and grace. He possessed a stealthy and dry wit that, delivered with a deadpan expression and immaculate timing, never failed to light up a room and make people laugh. I will remember him as one of the most thoroughly decent men I have met on my own journey.” A service will be held Friday, 11:30AM at Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape Street, and interment at Fairmount Cemetery. The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.