Bill LeFor, Ph.D.
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Dr. LeFor entered this world on 10-25-1937 and departed it on 2-3-2021. Born to Matt and Bridget LeFor in Blue Earth, MN he has a younger sister Mary (LeFor) Mans, who resides in Coon Rapids, MN with husband Richard. Bill was raised in Mankato, MN attending Holy Rosary Elementary School and Loyola High School where he was a catcher in baseball and running back in football. He voluntarily served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1960 as an operating room scrub nurse and hospital corpsman in Great Lakes, Key West, New York, and Bermuda. He served his country well, as nothing untoward happened during his watch! Bill loved life, everybody, and everything in it. Upon returning from military duty he matriculated at Minnesota State University at Mankato, receiving a B.A. in Biology in 1963. During this time he did the smartest thing in his life in marrying Carole Lee Bock. They enjoyed 58 years (from 4-28-62) of married life, rejoicing in three children: Belinda Lee LeFor (Lithia, FL), Cheryl Dee (LeFor) Krupczak (Atlanta, GA) and Barry Greg LeFor (Valrico, FL). His wife Carole and children, along with grandchildren Brandon, Matthew and Katie Krupczak and Avery and Karlie LeFor were the love, joy, and pride of his life. He was particularly proud of his family and in-laws Bobby Krupczak and Laurie (Knight) LeFor as being 'doers' all their lives. After the B.A. he received a scholarship from Indiana University, Department of Medical Microbiology/Immunology in Indianapolis. His Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Immunology were awarded in 1965 and 1968 under the tutelage of D.C. Bauer, Ph.D. With an interest in the clinical application of immunology, Bill joined the kidney transplant team at the Veterans Administration Hospital. In 1972 the group was brought to Tampa to establish organ transplantation at the new medical school at the University of South Florida and the Tampa Veterans Hospital. Bill established the Transplantation Immunology (Tissue Typing) Laboratory, taught, did research, and clinically was responsible for the testing and approval of organ donors and the evaluation and selection of donor/recipient pairs for human organ transplantation (The Match Maker!) Forever the maverick, he served in the Departments of Medicine, Medical Microbiology/Immunology and Pathology. He was later named full clinical professor in all three departments. More recently he directed the laboratory as a part of The LifeLink Foundation. Bill took particular pride in his role as one of the founders of The LifeLink Foundation along with four nephrologists (Drs. Dana Shires, Alex de Quesada, Larry Kahana, and Sam Weinstein) and a transplant surgeon (Dr. John Ackermann). LifeLink was responsible for human organ procurement and the establishment of a transplant program in the Tampa area. It became the model system for organ procurement, serving the west coast of Florida, the state of Georgia, and island of Puerto Rico. Tampa became the 5th largest transplant center by volume in the country. His Transplant Immunology Laboratory was central to these activities, well known country wide, and highly respected. This laboratory was very special to him, and the mantra of the lab was the patient --- the patient --- and, finally, the patient. He was blessed with an extremely competent and loyal crew and every day was not work, but discovering unique challenges that particular day would raise. Memorial services for Dr. LeFor will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the LifeLink Legacy fund which supports patient expenses not covered by insurance. LifeLink Corporate Headquarters, 9661 Delaney Creek Blvd, Tampa, FL 33619, (813) 253-2640.