Street Re-Named After Beloved Retiring Beverly Physician

By BILL FIGEL

The word “relentless” has been used to describe Dr. Robert Dolehide, as in “relentlessly positive.”  A tireless man of medicine, Dr. Dolehide found his motivating energy in the words of Mother Teresa:  “We must be sincere and treat people one on one.”

After more than 50 years of helping people in his local Beverly/Morgan Park community, the Chicagoan officially retired from the medical practice he founded. On May 19, he was joined by his family and honored with an official street sign designation:  Dr. Dolehide Way, at 113th and Western, where he’d practiced medicine for more than five decades.

In his speech, Dolehide accepted the gift while sharing it was his deceased brother Dr. Eugene Dolehide, son Dr. Kevin Dolehide and “all those professionals who provided health care in this building all these years.”

Dr. Dolehide, 88, took his first extended vacation with his wife of 61 years, Eileen, upon retiring December 1, 2013.

“I married my trophy bride first,” said Dr. Dolehide.

After a Christmas with family, the two caught their collective breath in Florida during a Chicago winter to forget.

A native of Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood and the parish of St. Dorothy Roman Catholic Church, Dolehide attended De La Salle High School.

According to Dr. Dolehide, at mid-term, a select few seniors were afforded the opportunity to begin studies at Saint Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota.  He and a handful of others from De La Salle Christian Brothers schools in the Chicago area relished the challenge of taking the Navy exam and begin studies at Saint Mary’s University MN.

Following his graduation from Saint Mary’s in 1947, he was called to serve in the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War II.  After, Dr. Dolehide was accepted and entered Loyola University Medical School, graduating in 1951 and setting a course that would begin as an internist/hematologist at Cook County Hospital.  At the time, the hospital was internationally renowned for its size and stature.

Dr. Dolehide began his private medical practice in a building near 111th Street and Kedzie Avenue and then joined forces with his brother, Eugene, a general surgeon, in a building they constructed at 113th and Western.  

Last year the building was razed and a new state-of-art medical center, Metro South, was opened with great zeal. Known to his patients and staff as Dr. Robert, he practiced at that location for more than five decades, working alongside his son, Kevin, for more than two decades.

“We thought our office should be centrally located,” Dr. Dolehide said. “Over the years, we had the pleasure of working with many doctors from Little Company of Mary, St. Francis and Mercy hospitals.

“Kevin is my best friend, a great doctor and my son and that made retiring a difficult decision.  But he is better served than I to handle the modern medicine of today.  He is a great doctor.”

During his career, Dr. Dolehide also served as medical director of pulmonary medicine at several area hospitals and served as a mentor to medical residents and third- and fourth-year students from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Rich in humor, Dr. Dolehide found irony in the changing times. In his office he kept an AMA Journal from the early 1960s that featured an article ranking American physicians’ favorite cigarettes.   

When asked if he ever smoked a cigarette himself, he replied softly: “Well, they were free in the service.”

Although the medical field has changed drastically over the past five decades, Dr. Dolehide’s compassionate and gentle bedside manner has always been a constant. He credits the career longevity to his wife, Eileen, whose contributions to church, right-to-life campaigns and family helped offset long hours and weekend rounds at the hospital.

The Dolehide couple dove deeply into the Right to Life movement in the 1960s and has never been afraid to take a stand on issues that are important to them. They were frequent guests to the cutting-edge talk show Kup’s Show, a WTTW staple production hosted by Irv Kupcinet.

The Dolehides are also longtime supporters of the Port Ministries, a non-profit organization that ministers to people in need by providing meals, GED and English classes and a free health clinic.  One Saturday a month, Dr. Dolehide would see patients at the clinic, and Eileen would help distribute meals from the bread truck or volunteer at our family center.

With eight children, 46 grandchildren and a wide circle of friends, Dolehide will undoubtedly remain active through his retirement doing what he does best.

“I’ve always been happy helping people,” he said. “I’ve been blessed.”