Harry ‘Doc’ William Burdick, M.D., founder and senior partner of K-Valley Orthopedics, passed away on February 14, 2023, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the age of 92.
Harry ‘Doc’ Burdick, Founder of K-Valley Orthopedics, Dies at 92
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Remembrances#obituary#harrywilliamburdick
Dr. Burdick served the orthopedic surgery and care needs of the Kalamazoo/Plainwell, Michigan, community for over 30 years. His family said he loved his job, so it never seemed like work.
Burdick earned his medical degree from The University of Michigan and started his orthopedic training at Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Soon after that, he was called to serve in the U.S. Air Force at the Harmon Air Force Base in Newfoundland, Canada, for two and half years. He completed his residency training and entered private practice in 1963, as large joint arthroplasty was just emerging as a viable treatment for end stage large joint arthroplasty. He and his partner, John L. Kihm, M.D., pioneered the use of large joint reconstruction in southwest Michigan.
Burdick was born on November 1, 1930, in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He spent his formative years there and graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, before pursuing his medical degree.
Burdick was married to his wife Sandra for 67 years and together they raised three daughters. He was also “Grandpa Doctor” to 10 grandchildren and their 7 spouses and “Grandpa Birdie” to 10 great-grandchildren.
“He was known and loved by his large family for his generosity, special vacations, his unique sayings, and stories, and rousing card games in which the shared goal was to beat their competitive and boisterous grandpa,” his family wrote.
When not serving patients, Burdick loved to spend time with his family year-round fishing, woodworking, and regularly beating his grandchildren at cards. He and his wife also served in the Open Hearts Ministry. He was also a member of the Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo. He served on the boards of Honey Creek Christian Home for Boys, Baptist Haiti Mission, and Westwood Baptist Church as well.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Andrew and Jeanette Burdick; sister, Barbara Gill; nephew Carl Gill. He is survived his wife Sandra; daughters, Beth Kuiper, Sue Comfort, and Amy Anderson and their spouses.
He also leaves behind his grandchildren, Jeremy Kuiper, Andrew Kuiper, Austen Comfort, Parker Comfort, Maddie Kupecky, Preston Comfort, Erik Anderson, Joel Anderson, Ryan Anderson and Seth Anderson as well as his great-grandchildren, Libby, Lane and Lucy Kuiper, Sieanna Kuiper, Sawyer and Auggie Comfort, Owen, Graham and Vivian Comfort, and Poppy Kupecky and his niece, Becky Castro.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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