Child psychiatrist renowned as 'teacher of teachers'

A well-regarded expert in child psychiatry, Dr. Joseph Fischhoff focused both on the youth he treated and scores of professionals he trained.

"He was a physician who could bring comfort not only to the patients but to those taking care of the children," said Dr. Jimmie Leleszi, a colleague. "He was a teacher of the teachers."

Dr. Fischhoff died Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, after a stroke. He was 87.

Born Feb. 17, 1924, to Hungarian immigrants, he grew up in Detroit and attended Cass Tech High School.

A talented jazz trumpeter, he once considered a musical career and as a teen performed with local bands, relatives said.

During World War II, he was drafted in the Army. Instead of frontline action, he was sent to study engineering at Indiana University and earn degrees from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

After graduating, Dr. Fischhoff interned at Detroit's Hutzel Hospital and was a resident at the Neuropsychiatric Institute in Ann Arbor. He also treated service members at the Selfridge Air Force Base hospital and trained at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute before entering private practice.

Dr. Fischhoff became a clinical instructor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and chief of psychiatry at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, relatives said.

He authored numerous publications; served on many government, public and advisory boards; and consulted for many hospitals and service agencies.

A former visiting professor at Stanford University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan, he also was an examiner with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; a American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellow; a life fellow at the American Psychiatric Association; and a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Honors included a service award from the Michigan Society for Autistic Children; the Simon Wyle Award from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; and the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Wayne State University School of Medicine Alumni Association. WSU also set a Distinguished Service Award in his honor.

Dr. Fischhoff most recently was psychiatric director at Counseling Associates, the mental health clinic in West Bloomfield Township he co-founded. "He got a tremendous amount of enjoyment from working every day with us," said executive director Sid Grossberg.

Last year, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry told Dr. Fischhoff he was its oldest practicing member, said his son, David. "He couldn't stop working."

Hobbies included reading, classical music, sailing on Lake St. Clair and vacationing with relatives up north each summer.

"He'd start talking as we were leaving about the next summer," said his daughter, Ann Spagnola.

Besides his children, other survivors include his wife, Rose; a daughter, Beth Melina; five grandchildren; and a brother, Henry.

Services are noon today at the Ira Kaufman Chapel, 18325 W. Nine Mile, Southfield.

Interment is at Adat Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia.

Memorials may be made to Children's Hospital of Michigan, 3901 Beaubien, Detroit, MI 48201.