Harvey Schloesser

Harvey Leopold Schloesser, M.D. a respected psychiatrist and psychoanalyst died peacefully at Village Shalom in Overland Park, KS on March 27, 2016, at age 94. He was born Heinz Leopold Schlösser in Mainz, Germany in 1921, to Ernst Schlösser and Berta (née Stern) Schlösser. In April 1938 at age 16, Heinz Schlösser immigrated to the United States aboard the S.S. Manhattan. His immigration was sponsored by the Uhlmann family in Kansas City, Missouri, who rescued many German Jews from the Holocaust. Upon arrival in New York City, immigration officials boarded the S.S. Manhattan, and Harvey changed his name from Heinz Schlösser to Harvey Schloesser. Harvey Schloesser's parents remained in Germany and perished in concentration camps.

Harvey Schloesser joined his sister Lieselotte (née Schlösser) Mann, a dress designer for Nelly Don, and her husband Kurt Mann in Kansas City, Missouri. Harvey worked as a stock boy for the Lee Wald Garment Company until January 1942 when he volunteered for the US Army. After basic training Harvey Schloesser achieved the rank of sergeant for the 89th Infantry, Intelligence and Reconnaissance battalion, European Theater. In that role he conducted vehicle and foot patrol reconnaissance missions in advance of the U.S. Army. At the time of his honorable discharge he was a Staff Sergeant and served as an interrogator in the Mobile Field Interrogation Unit #2, Military Intelligence in Berlin, debriefing Nazi war criminals. Harvey Schloesser received a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Harvey Schloesser was a devoted husband to Patricia Schloesser, M.D. and father to five children. He was a psychiatrist, a psychoanalyst, an autodidact, a lover of the opera, classical music and art, in addition to being a ham radio operator, pilot, photographer, stamp collector, and took great delight in Märklin model trains. All of these passions informed a lifelong interest in travel, the world, and politics.

Schloesser had more adventures in his long life than most lifetimes. Living alone as a teenager in Kansas City, Missouri, Harvey learned the English language by going to the "Three movies for 10 cents" and was a lifelong cinephile. He joined the American army as an "enemy alien" and became a US citizen in 1943 while serving his new country. When the Army posted him at Oklahoma State University, he met the love of his life, Patricia Jane Turk, whom he married on New Year's Eve, 1945. Harvey Schloesser entered medical school with no undergraduate degree, matriculated from University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1951, and completed his psychiatric residency at the Menninger Foundation in 1955. He learned to fly a plane so he could treat patients in western Kansas and became a ham radio operator to talk to fellow hams around the world. Because of his medical and psychiatric training and ham radio skills, he was asked to join the Plaisted Expedition to the North Pole, which he declined citing his responsibility for his family.

His life was graced with a dynamic cast of characters. One year a fellow psychiatrist brought two guests to the house during dinner and Harvey chatted with them on the front porch but didn't invite them in. When he returned to the dinner table and the family asked who was at the door, he simply replied: "Truman Capote and Harper Lee." While working at the Menninger Foundation as a staff psychiatrist and later as Associate Director, he met numerous visiting professors including Anna Freud, Konrad Lorenz, Margaret Mead, and regularly lunched with Aldous Huxley.

In 1971, Harvey and Patricia Schloesser moved to Uganda with their five children. Harvey worked for the Uganda Ministry of Health, and one of his consults was for the Ugandan army where he encountered General Idi Amin Dada. The Schloesser family was evacuated by the US State Department due to the increasing civil unrest under the dictatorship of Idi Amin. After brief stints in Kenya, France, and Australia, Harvey and Pat reclaimed their home base in Topeka, Kansas and continued practicing psychiatry and public health, respectively. Harvey served as the Director of Psychiatry at Memorial Hospital, Topeka and was a Medical Consultant for Disability Determination and Referral Services for the State of Kansas. His professional affiliations included the American Medical Association, Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Member of the Shawnee County Medical Society, and a Member of the Kansas Medical Society. Along with his wife Patricia Schloesser M.D. he was a Member of the International Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

In addition to Harvey Schloesser's passions for classical music, opera, and art, he was a ravenous reader and an early practitioner of biofeedback. He jogged until age 68; loved a great cigar; and stealthily brought the latest cameras and technology into the house, hoping that Patricia wouldn't notice. Harvey Schloesser's love of the arts and technology were passed on to his children and grandchildren and enriched his life immeasurably. Harvey always said he was the luckiest man in the world because he met Patricia and had five wonderful children. Harvey and Patricia continued their love of travel until her death in 2000.

Harvey is survived by his five children: Lysa Schloesser of Tacoma, WA, Nina McKenna (Doug) of Mission Hills, KS, Peter Schloesser, M.D. (Margie) of Park City, UT, Anne Clark, M.D. (Perry) of Leawood, KS, and David Schloesser, M.D. (Janet) of Bend, OR; 12 grandchildren: Lina Yaqubian, Ali Yaqubian, Nick McKenna, Dylan McKenna, Sean McKenna (Kimberly), Benjamin Schloesser, Patrick Schloesser, Katie Clark, Harrison Clark, Stephen Schloesser and Aliza Schloesser; and a great-­- grandchild, Cormac McKenna.

The family gives special thanks to the staff at Village Beth Shalom who provided such excellent care to Harvey over the last five years. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Village Shalom, Development Department, 5500 W. 123rd St, Overland Park, KS 66209.