Fred Hamburg passed away peacefully in his home on July 8, 2017 after a prolonged illness.  He is survived by his wife Elaine; his sons, Keith and Brian; daughter-in-law Kim; grandchildren, Emily, Allison, Rachel and Aaron; and brother Harold.

Fred was a pediatrician in Springfield for 30 years, and loved his patients, their families, and his wonderful partners and office staff.  He cared deeply about children, and considered himself lucky to be able to help kids and young families to improve their lives. He was an early driving force in Springfield to educate the community about the terrible problems of child abuse and neglect, and to help develop resources for children and their families.  He was an active participant in changing Missouri law for the protection of children and to ease the amount of time they would have to remain in foster care.  He organized the community's Child Advocacy Council, though which he worked tirelessly for years to benefit children.   He helped write legislation to create Missouri's Children Trust Fund and he served on its first board.  He also participated in developing a new law that would create Children's Death Review committees and he served for years on the local committee.  He created the first Child Protection Team to assist the Division of Family Services in the evaluation of abuse and neglect reports and establishment of treatment plans.  For these efforts, he was honored by the Greene County Bar Association with its 1984 Liberty Bell award.

He also developed the first intensive care nursery in Southwest Missouri, and obtained funding through the state to help support it.  He suggested the need for a hospital in South Springfield, and actively participated in its planning and convincing the state Certificate of Need Committee of its necessity.  He was asked to assist St. Louis Children's Hospital to implement an after-hours pediatric nurse telephone triage program, developed by his friend and mentor, Bart Schmitt, and traveled to St. Louis once a month to participate in their triage committee.

He was also active in Springfield's small Jewish community.  He felt strongly that, with the limited resources available to Jewish families in the Missouri Ozarks, families should be able to participate in prayer and social life centered on Judaism, and maintain the customs and culture of their religion.  As such, he was the building chairman for the present Temple Israel, and served as congregational president and president of the Temple Israel Foundation for many years.   He believed in developing friendships and connections between the Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Springfield, and created many resources to foster those efforts, including the very popular Temple Israel Art Fest.

Fred believed that for every problem there was a solution.  He served on the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Springfield News-Leader, and wrote about many topics, including better access to medical care and medicines, immunization of children, and environmental causes.  He participated with the city and county in planning to improve recycling and waste management. Even near the end of his life, he continued to seek solutions; most recently, in planning for statewide advocacy for patients with chronic pain.

With all of this, he was a wonderful family man.  He considered his wife, children and grandchildren to be gifts from God.  They went on many family camping, canoeing and fishing trips together, and he served as chairman of his sons' Boy Scout troop.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 in Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home with Rabbi Barbara Block officiating.  Burial will follow in Temple Israel Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in his name to the Temple Israel Foundation, c/o Lynda Luria, PO Box 4284, Springfield, MO 65808, the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, or any children's charity.