On March 4, 2019 Robert Bower of Reading passed away at age 93.

Born July 6, 1925 in Wyncote, PA, he graduated from William Penn Charter School in 1943 and attended Harvard University before serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, then graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1950. He married Anne Bliss of Brookline, MA March 4, 1950 who predeceased him. A general surgeon and Associate Professor at Philadelphia's Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital for 40 years, Dr. Bower was part of a team of surgeons that started the hospital's kidney transplant program in 1963.

After retiring, "Dr. B" lived in Stoneham and Reading, MA where he watched his grandchildren grow up, and he served as Church visitor at First Congregational Church in Stoneham. He is survived by his daughter Beth Bower and her husband Edward P. Holden III of Stoneham, MA; son Robert Bower Jr. and his wife Yao Bower of Glenside, PA; daughter Wendy Gertridge and her husband Glenn Gertridge of North Hampton, NH; and Wendy's children Anne, Alison, and AJ Catalano.

Services will be private. A Tribute Page at the Alzheimer's Association website has been set up for memorial donations at http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pxfid=536839&fr_id=1060&pg=fund