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People > Notable Norkans > Dr. Alexander John Schleuning II

Dr. Alexander John Schleuning II

Dr. Alexander John Schleuning II was an internationally known Ear, Nose, and Throat physician and surgeon specializing in hearing, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), Meniere's disease, and the side effects of drugs related to ear problems. Schleuning was born in 1934 in Portland and spent his childhood in Lake Oswego.

Dr. Schleuning was the son of Alexander Schleuning, who emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1905. He was also the nephew of well-known pastor, civil rights advocate, and writer Johannes Schleuning.
Picture
Painting of Alexander Schleuning, M.D. by artist Dan Howe. Source: Collection of Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland Oregon.
Schleuning graduated in 1956 from Stanford University, where he met his wife, Patricia. They were married in 1957 while he was attending the University of Oregon Medical School (now OHSU). 

As part of his military service in the U.S. Army, he was Chief of Otolaryngology at Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg, N.C., from 1965 to 1967. 

He joined OHSU as a faculty member in 1967. He was named Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology in 1980, having been, at the time of his appointment, one of the youngest physicians to be so honored. He retired as Chairman in 2000 but continued to teach and to care for his patients until just days before his death.

Among his many achievements, Schleuning helped introduce and expand the use of groundbreaking surgical techniques for hearing restoration, such as implantable hearing devices. He helped many deaf children hear for the first time and restored lost hearing in adults. Schleuning also volunteered for over three decades at an ear clinic on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Central Oregon. His service to these Native American children, whom he loved, contributed to a dramatic decrease in the incidence of pediatric hearing loss in this community, an accomplishment of which he was very proud.

Schleuning was the author of dozens of peer-reviewed academic papers and a talented, much-loved teacher. The American Academy of Otolaryngology named him a Distinguished Teacher in 1979.

Schleuning has been a member of numerous medical and scientific organizations throughout his career and served for 18 years on the American Board of Otolaryngology. He was president of the Oregon Academy of Otolaryngology in 1980. He also served as a board member for the Hearing and Speech Institute and the Tucker-Maxon Oral School for the Deaf. Schleuning, known as "Zan" to his friends and family, enjoyed the outdoors.

There was nothing he loved more than a day spent crabbing or fishing at the coast with family and friends or working in his garden. Nothing cheered him up more than spending time with his grandchildren. Schleuning's many friends, admirers, and colleagues remember him for his wonderful sense of humor, his warm and caring manner, and his devotion to his family, his profession, and to OHSU.

Schleuning died on April 30, 2005, his family at his side, at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital (OHSU) of a myelodysplastic disease (a blood disorder) which he courageously and uncomplainingly battled for more than seven years.

Sources

Obituary for Dr. Alexander John Schleuning II, published in The Oregonian on May 4, 2005.
Last updated December 10, 2023
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Reviews
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links