Heinz Lenz Obituary

Jürgen Lenz of both Hamburg, Germany and San Diego packed several lifetimes into his.
Jürgen was born to Hedwig and Heinz Lenz in Stettin, East Prussia (now Poland). When he was a young child, his family took the last train out of Eastern Europe to Hamburg, Germany. There he grew up playing soccer, guitar, and completed his education. He graduated from the University of Hamburg medical school in 1980. Jürgen followed his research interests to the Salk Institute. Jürgen met his future wife, Susan, they were married almost 40 years.
They relocated to Germany for 5 years where Jürgen completed residency at the University of Hamburg. Always home in time for a family dinner, Jurgen was an involved and dedicated parent.
Jürgen became a physician-scientist in gastroenterology at UCSD. He was the most cited author of scientific literature in Europe, was awarded research grants, and prestigious awards for his research contributions. He practiced gastroenterology for 32 years in private practice at Scripps Hospital and later founded a hospitalist company.
Jürgen lived a very full life; his family took fabulous vacations around the world. He introduced his daughters to tennis, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking, mountaineering, cycling, snorkeling, traveling light, and appreciating a long, long road trip. Jürgen was an eager mountain climber and summitted many peaks in the US and internationally. Always interested in a good road trip, Jürgen traveled all 19,000 miles of the Pan-American Highway by motorcycle from the tip of South America to the Arctic Circle! He also took adventurous motorcycle trips through the US, Mexico, and Europe; he enthusiastically explored 75+ countries.
Jürgen is survived by his wife, Susan, his daughters, Stefanie (Jonathan) and Olivia, and grandchildren, Theo, Bethany, and Petra.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, October 14th at 3PM at La Jolla Presbyterian Church.