Richard Krugel: Hippocratic Oath

Richard Krugel is a loving, humble and compassionate man who shared his priorities of family and always giving a helping hand to people that need it.

Dr. Richard Krugel was born February 14, 1943, in the city of Detroit. His parents raised him and his two siblings, Larry, and Carol as Conservative Jews. His father was an accountant, and his mom was a housewife. Throughout his childhood, he lived in a predominantly Jewish community and graduated from Mumford High School. He and his loving wife, Sally, have been married for 59 years and have three married sons whom he is very proud of. His family has mainly stuck to school inside of Michigan with his six grandchildren attending Michigan or Michigan State, as well as Cornell, Vanderbilt and Kansas.

Richard is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. After his studies in Ann Arbor, he traveled to Brooklyn, New York, to train in Orthopedic Surgery. This ultimately led to his job as an orthopedic surgeon back at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Krugel also served in the Air Force for three years at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. During his time on the base, where he served as a Major, the head of the Israeli Air Force, Avihu Ben-Nun came to study. The two became very close friends. They and their families still communicate with each other to this day. Dr. Krugel described his 3-year tenure with the military as fascinating, and that it meant a great deal to him. He is very proud to be a military veteran and to have served his country.

Another major emphasis in Dr. Krugel’s life was to be available for anyone no matter the circumstances. Dr. Krugel would help any patients no matter what the time was. It did not matter whether the patient was new or returning, Jewish or another religion, because at the end of the day, Dr. Krugel would help them. Even after retiring, Dr. Krugel still takes patients' phone calls and looks to refer them to the best doctors he can find.

A huge part of Dr. Krugel’s life was dedicated to Partners in Torah — “a very good program for adult Jewish learning.” — in Detroit.

Of Richard Krugel many philosophies, the one that stood out to me was the golden rule of treating others how you would want to be treated yourself. This rule ultimately applied with Dr. Krugel’s life as his positive attitude and the positive footprint he has left on our community.

Dr. Krugel has been a big contributor to both the Jewish and General Communities of Metro Detroit. Richard Krugel is honored today for the tremendous amount of wisdom and the tremendous impact that he has made on many people’s lives.