Muriel Chevious Kowlessar, M.D.

Muriel Kowlessar, Professor Emerita of Pediatrics of the Medical College of Pennsylvania, died at home in Springfield, Massachusetts on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. Born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of John Chevious and the former Arene Driver, she was educated in the public schools of New York. She graduated from Barnard College cum laude and received her M.D. degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. After medical school, she moved to Rochester, New York for specialty training in pediatrics at Strong Memorial Hospital. Returning to New York City, following several years of practice, she joined the Department of Pediatrics of the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center as Assistant Professor. In 1966, she moved to Philadelphia to accept a position at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. In 1970, she joined the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she served as Vice Chairman, Director of the Pediatric Outpatient Department and Professor of Pediatrics until retirement. Dr. Kowlessar was married in 1952 to the late O. Dhodanand Kowlessar, M.D., a Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Massachusetts in 2008 to be near her family. In her new community she was active in volunteer activities as a foster care reviewer for the Department of Children and Families, a school mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program and a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Music School of Springfield. She is survived by her daughter, Indrani Kowlessar and granddaughter, Katie Gallagher of Ludlow, Massachusetts. Memorial contributions may be made to the Muriel Chevious Kowlessar ’51 Scholarship Fund, Office of Development, Columbia University Medical Center, 100 Haven Avenue, Suite 29D, New York, NY 10032 or to the Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing Philanthropic Fund, Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing, 807 Wilbraham Road, Springfield, MA 01109. She was laid to rest in the Springfield Cemetery Memorial Scattering Garden. Please visit Dr. Kowlessar’s memorial page at www.nefcc.net for expressions of sympathy. New England Funeral & Cremation Center, LLC, 25 Mill Street, Springfield, MA has been entrusted with the arrangements. To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Muriel Chevious Kowlessar, M.D..

Muriel Chevious Kowlessar, M.D.

January 2, 1926 - July 13, 2022