The local medical community is mourning the loss of one of the area's pioneering orthopedic surgeons.
Dr. Gregory B. Krivchenia, 81, of Marietta, recently passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Krivchenia began practicing in Marietta in 1967 and later founded First Settlement Orthopaedics, practicing there until his retirement in 2004.
Dr. Ken Leopold said he worked with Krivchenia for more than 24 years.
"I've never worked with anyone who gave a more honest opinion or who was more dedicated to his work," Leopold said. "I always liked Dr. Krivchenia because he told me just what he felt -whatever it was - and he always did the job the way it needed to be done."
Leopold, past chief of staff at Marietta Memorial Hospital, said Krivchenia was a part of the credential committee at the hospital.
"His patients always got the very best," Leopold said.
Krivchenia's daughter, Megan Baumgartel, of Fleming, said her father was extremely dedicated to his work, often leaving early in the morning and studying or reviewing cases until late in the night.
"He was a perfectionist," she said. "He wanted to always make sure he was doing the right thing and giving the best care possible."
Baumgartel said her father didn't take vacations and didn't have an answering service.
"He took patient calls," she said. "He would go to homes or the hospital late at night to follow up. That's just how he was and I think a part of why people loved him so much."
Baumgartel said during the earlier days of his practice, her father would sometimes be found in a hardware store.
"He found he didn't always have the tools he needed and he would be constantly looking for new or better ways to conduct a procedure," she said.
Baumgartel said her father would occasionally break to go plant trees or mow on a farm he owned near Fleming.
"This was before the days of pagers or cell phones," she said. "Sometimes he just liked the solitude."
The doctor also pushed education in his home and wasn't afraid to encourage medicine.
Baumgartel said once two of her brothers expressed an interest in medicine, he would take them into the operating room to watch or assist.
Those two sons, Gregory II and Alex are now doctors, she said. Also, one of Krivchenia's grandchildren is a doctor. Gregory Krivchenia II continues to work at First Settlement in Marietta. Krivchenia was born in Cleveland in 1929 and graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1954 and completed a residency in orthopedic surgery.
at Akron General Hospital. His military service included three years in the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. He died Aug. 24.
