Philip Littman, a former associate professor of radiation therapy at Penn, died at home on March 16 from complications related to ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 75 years old.

Dr. Littman was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended high school at Baltimore City College, then graduated from Stanford University in 1962. He was in one of the first classes of Peace Corps volunteers, serving as a science and English teacher from 1962-1964 in Ethiopia/Eritrea. Upon returning to the US, he attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Medicine, and graduated in 1968. He also served in the US Public Health Service from 1968-1971.

Dr. Littman did his postgraduate radiation oncology training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Radiology in therapeutic radiology.

In 1978, he became an assistant professor of radiation therapy at HUP. In 1980, he was promoted to associate professor of radiation therapy.

After leaving Penn in 1984, Dr. Littman served on the faculty at Brown University’s School of Medicine as a professor of radiation therapy. In 1987, he opened the Southern Wisconsin Radiotherapy Center in Madison, where he served as the primary physician.

He retired in 2003 and moved to Stuart, Florida, then he worked as a locum tenens radiation oncology physician in various states. He and his wife, Trish, spent several years sailing around the Bahamas and Caribbean. Dr. Littman also sailed across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

At the age of 70, he re-trained himself to be a general practitioner so he could volunteer as a physician at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in Stuart, Florida, where he worked regularly until ALS-related symptoms forced him physically to retire. He remained engaged in medical literature until his final days.

Dr. Littman is survived by his wife, Trish; his daughter, Rachel (Doug Davis); his son, Josh (Natalia); and four grandchildren, Adam Littman Davis, Amanda Littman Davis, Levi Orion Littman and Savannah Arial Littman.

Donations may be made to the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic (http://vimclinic.net/), MJHS Hospice Foundation (https://mjhsfoundation.org/donate/hospice-and-palliative-care-fund/) or the ALS Association, Greater New York Chapter (http://www.als-ny.org/).