Dr. Benjamin Belknap, 63, Was UW Medical-School Professor

Benjamin Belknap, M.D., was the kind of physician-hero you'd build an Emmy-winning TV series around.

Tall, with kind yet penetrating eyes and a knowing, wry smile, he radiated compassion for colleagues and students alike.

On the University of Washington School of Medicine's Admissions Committee and a longtime faculty member and vice dean for administration at the medical school, he fought many battles in behalf of minorities and disadvantaged students.

In court, Dr. Belknap's liberal views usually triumphed.

His last battle was with his own damaged heart. He lost that battle Friday at age 63.

"He demonstrated his concern for the underrepresented," said medical-school colleague Bruce Gilleland, M.D., "as the head of a task force that looked at minorities entering our school. He was kind of the institution's conscience. He knew its history. He had a perspective.

"He was sensitive. Not warm and cuddly, but you had the feeling he was sincerely interested in you."

Dr. Belknap had a subtle sense of humor and a good memory. When one-time dean Gilleland said something that didn't line up with a previous position, Dr. Belknap would say with a twinkle, "I seem to remember what a dean had to say two years ago."

Another colleague, Philip Fialkow, vice president for medical affairs and dean at the School of Medicine, said, "Ben Belknap's contributions to the school were extraordinary. He had a special ability to form lasting friendships with his work colleagues. . . . His personal presence touched all of us."

Trained at University of Rochester, Oberlin College and Princeton University, Dr. Belknap came to Seattle in 1961 to intern at University Hospital (now UW Medical Center). He married Kathleen Lunny, a nurse, in 1965.

From 1967 to 1971, he taught at the Marquette School of Medicine in Milwaukee, then returned to the UW as associate professor and medical director of the UW Medical Center. He also was chief of staff at Seattle Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Gilleland called Dr. Belknap "educated in the real sense - what was happening in the world, and in the arts. Dr. Belknap was widely read and attended ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) and Seattle Repertory Theatre."

Dr. Belknap, a doctor's son, also enjoyed going out on the sailboat of colleague, Brian McKenna, M.D.

"His only disappointment," said Gilleland, "was that he'd wanted to return to the family cabin on a little lake near Lake Michigan. That's really where his roots were. He grew up in Wisconsin. Staying a few months every summer at the lake, communing with nature - not fishing or hunting, just enjoying the serenity and the birds - kept him going."

Dr. Belknap is survived by his wife, his son Robert, his brother Elston Belknap, M.D., of Madison, Wis., and a nephew and two nieces. Services will be at 4 p.m. tomorrow at St. Mark's Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E. The family suggests remembrances be sent to the UW Division of Cardiology and the Northwest Kidney Center.