Harold L. Upjohn M.D. passed away at Mills Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame, CA. He was 91 years old and died from complications of Covid-19. He passed away quickly and peacefully in the presence of family. He was a long-time resident of San Mateo County and in the last few years of his life resided at Atria Senior Living in Burlingame, CA.
Harold was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan to E. Gifford Upjohn M.D. and Inez Love Upjohn (nee Barnett). He was raised with his beloved younger sister, Nancy, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He had a lifelong love of sports and from an early age was a fierce competitor. He was nationally ranked in tennis during his youth and proudly represented his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the U.S. Junior Tennis Nationals. He graduated high school in 1946 from Phillips Andover Academy with honors, where he was a recipient of the coveted Fuller Medal (scholastic excellence recognition) and was a star athlete in both basketball and tennis. He went onto Yale University for undergraduate school, graduating in 1950. In addition to graduating with distinction, he was a starter on the Yale men’s basketball team and helped them reach the quarterfinals in the 1949 NCAA Division 1 college basketball tournament. From there, he attended and graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1954, where he served as the 3rd year class president. He was married twice. Originally, to Alice Jones in 1954. They had 4 children together: Sally, Randy, Doug and Susan. Alice and Harold divorced in 1982. He later married Sharon Oliveri (1982 until his death). They had 2 children: Chris and Jenny.
Once Harold earned his M.D., he served as a physician and Captain in the U.S. Military where he rounded on high profile government officials and conducted clinical research on wound healing and metabolism at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (see numerous publications). He was honorably discharged in 1956. Harold had a long-distinguished career in the pharmaceutical industry. He worked at The Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he advanced to the rank of Clinical Research Director and helped pass numerous drugs through the F.D.A. with the utilization of a new technique called randomized, double blind, controlled clinical trials. Some of the drugs he helped bring to market at The Upjohn Company included Orinase (blood control medication for diabetes), Provest (one of the first birth control pills) and Depo-Provera (injectable long acting contraceptive). In 1970 Harold moved to California where he created and founded the company, Health Maintenance Inc. (H.M.I.), one of the pre-cursors to modern H.M.O.s. On the side, Harold was a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he taught the proper procedures and protocols of clinical trials. He then worked as the Vice President of Clinical Research at Allergan, Inc. for 5 years before moving to Syntex, Inc. as the Vice President of Safety for the remaining 18 years of his career.
Harold was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was known for his upbeat personality, optimism and resilience. He was a great leader and visionary and could find the positive in any situation. He had a lifelong love of learning and continued to research topics like health, longevity and the power of high dose Vitamin C well into his 80s. Most importantly, Harold was a man who loved life, learning and family above anything else. To say he will be sorely missed is an understatement. He is survived by his wife, Sharon Upjohn, his 6 kids: Sally, Randy, Doug, Susan, Chris and Jenny; 7 grandchildren: Matt, Jessie, Danny, Julianne, Sally, James and William; and 2 Great grandchildren: Jack and Alice.
We are planning a memorial service and celebration of life later this summer once it has been deemed safe for travel and social gatherings. Please visit Harold’s tribute wall to leave a condolence, message or personal memory of him at https://www.langelands.com.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.