Dateline DFCI
Mort Lederman is saluted for five decades of dedication
With a young friend in the early days
Mort Lederman joined the fledgling Children's Cancer Research Foundation when founder Sidney Farber, MD, and his small staff were just starting to see improvements in the then-grim survival rates for children's cancers.
Fifty years later, on Jan. 1, Lederman retired from what is now Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as a legendary part of a 3,000-member organization that has helped increase survival and cure rates for many forms of childhood and adult cancer.
"Working here has been the greatest experience — and the greatest education — I could ever have," Lederman reflected this winter as he marked the unprecedented milestone. "I've been proud to be part of the progress made here."
Lederman came to DFCI in 1952 as administrative assistant to Farber and supervisor of buildings and grounds. For the next five decades, he helped ensure the integrity of the Institute's maintenance, housekeeping, mailroom, security, and related areas, and was longtime manager of its General Services Department.
Mort Lederman as he neared retirement
Over the years, he witnessed the physical growth of the Dana-Farber campus, the modernization of its facilities, the swelling of its patient population, and, of course, dramatic advances in cancer research and treatment. He also cemented his reputation for caring about his employees and their families, as well as for showing legions of new staff members how to blast a fire extinguisher in emergencies. A United States Tennis Association ranked player who taught the sport to many colleagues, Lederman is now a registered teaching professional.
Co-workers from throughout the Institute gathered in November to toast and roast Lederman before his retirement. "You've given all of us joy and a lesson in commitment," Dana-Farber President Emeritus David G. Nathan, MD, told the gentle, towering man known as "Uncle Morty." Added Jimmy Fund Chairman Mike Andrews, "Nobody cares about Dana-Farber Cancer Institute more than Mort Lederman."
