Former Interim Chair and Professor Emeritus Georgine Steude, MD, passes away

Georgine Steude, MD, a celebrated member of the University of Michigan Medical School Department of Anesthesiology, passed away April 18, 2025. Born in Chicago, Ill., on September 10, 1931, Steude led a life committed to faith, learning and service.

Steude earned her bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University in 1953 and her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in 1957 — graduating as one of only four women in her class —  and completed her internship and residency at University of Michigan. She began her teaching career as an instructor in anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Medical Center from 1960-1963 and from 1968-1972, after which time she became an assistant professor. 

In 1982, she was appointed assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology. She acted as section chief of Obstetrical Anesthesiology from 1983-1989 and was section chief of Pediatric Anesthesiology from 1985-1989.

“I started as a CA-1 in 1985, when she was the head of OB Anesthesia and then became the head of Peds Anesthesia,” said Paul Reynolds, MD, who served as section chief of Pediatric Anesthesiology from 1992-2021. “She was a wonderful person and a great mentor.”

In 1989, Steude was appointed interim chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and served the university in that capacity through 1990. During that time, she helped the department grow to meet the demands of increasing clinical service needs, expanded the residency program to 20 individuals per class and successfully petitioned to recruit faculty in the clinical track.

“In the fall of 1990 when interviewed for the chair position, the first department member I met with was Georgine. She was very kind and thoughtful,” said Kevin Tremper, MD, PhD, who served as department chair from 1991-2019. 

“She described the recent history of the department having been through several changes in leadership over the past five years. It was clear that these changes had left an unsettling feeling among many in the department, and Georgine’s leadership calmed the concerns. Everyone trusted her. Having directed OB and pediatric anesthesia, she was clearly a great choice to manage the department through another change in leadership. I will be forever grateful for her support and advice as I assumed my new role.”

Following her time as interim chair, Steude took a sabbatical and gained additional post-graduate training in pain management. This resulted in her return to the department as a member of the Pain Management Section, and the following year became director of the Acute Pain Service. She continued seeing chronic pain patients on a weekly basis while managing one of the larger acute pain services in the nation. She became Board Certified in the subspecialty of Pain Management in Anesthesiology in 1994, the first year that certification process was offered. Even after her retirement as faculty in 1997, she returned to work part-time in the pain clinic for several years.

In recognition of her distinguished career and her dedication to the Department of Anesthesiology and its educational program, Tremper and the department initiated the Georgine M. Steude MD Professorship of Anesthesiology Education in 2007. 

“She will be missed, but her memory will live on with this endowed professorship,” Tremper said.

In addition to her extensive clinical and teaching responsibilities, Steude served on more than 40 committees at national, state and institutional levels, and was president of the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists from 1990-1992 and trustee of the Robert B. Sweet Memorial Fund from 1980-1996.

Read Dr. Steude’s obituary and share memories and condolences.