Ronald F. Altman, 81, CPO(e), passed away on December 7 after a battle with Lewy body dementia. He was born July 28, 1939, in Yonkers, New York. In 1948, at nine years old, Altman was run over by a truck in front of his family’s home in Brooklyn and lost his right leg. That event changed his life and the lives of people with amputations and O&P practitioners around the world.
Altman earned the respect and admiration of O&P colleagues worldwide through his involvement in all aspects of the profession. As a Peace Corps volunteer, he built the O&P facility at the Suva Crippled Children’s School in Suva, Fiji. He served as an examiner for the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC), chair of the National Examination Committee, a member of the ABC board of directors, president of ABC, and vice chair of the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.
In addition, Altman conducted O&P facility evaluations in Mozambique, Uganda, and Vietnam as a consultant for USAID. In 2005, four years after retiring from clinical practice, he received the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Clinical Commitment Award given to those who have quietly demonstrated a commitment to The Code of Professional Responsibility and to improving the professional image of the O&P profession to patients, coworkers, and colleagues.
Altman leaves his wife of 55 years Pamela Altman, daughters Elizabeth Mansfield and Virginia Peterson, sons Frederic Altman and James Altman, and an extended family.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center or the International Society of Prosthetics & Orthotics Global Development Fund.
