Dr. Henning Pontoppidan, of Lexington and formerly of Weston, died on October 20, 2017, at the age of 92. He was a world-famous anesthesiologist and pioneer in the area of pulmonary intensive care at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).  Dr. Pontoppidan was the Reginald Jenney Professor of Anaesthesia, Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School.  In 2011, a Henning Pontoppidan Visiting Professorship was established at the medical school.

In 1961, Dr. Pontoppidan established the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU), the hospital's first designated intensive care unit and the first of its kind in the country. As the reputation of the RICU at MGH grew, many hospitals across the United States began modeling it.  In 1965, Dr. Pontoppidan and colleagues described the experience gained in the RICU in their medical textbook, Respiratory Care , the so-called "red bible," which was the first textbook in the field.

Dr. Pontoppidan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1925. He graduated from the medical school of the University of Copenhagen in 1952.  In 1949, Dr. Pontoppidan married Yonna Sahmel and immigrated to the United States.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army Medical Corps and eventually assigned to Fort Ord Army Hospital in California as Chief of the Anesthesia Section with the rank of Captain.  Upon completion of his military service, Dr. Pontoppidan was appointed a research fellow and completed training in anesthesiology at MGH, where he soon joined the staff.

In addition to his medical work, Dr. Pontoppidan had many passions. He loved to be outdoors tending trees, gardening, enjoying wildlife. He enjoyed cabinet making and, in his Weston workshop, produced a number of fine pieces of furniture. He spent as much time as possible on his beloved Cliff Island, Maine. There he taught himself sailing and carpentry, skills he lovingly passed on to his children and grandchildren. He was a kind, loyal, generous person with a wry sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye.

Dr. Pontoppidan was predeceased by his wife Yonna, and his brother Niels. He is survived by his brother Ditlev, his three daughters, Michaela Granstrom, Myanna Pontoppidan, and Lisa Pontoppidan, and their respective spouses, Chris Granstrom, Linda Giles, and Story Stephenson, as well as his granddaughter, Sara Granstrom, and her fiancé, Michael Leyden, and his granddaughter, Maren Granstrom; his brother and sisters-in-law, Per, Eva May, Eva Schou, and Susanne, as well as his niece, nephews, and Godchildren.

Dr. Pontoppidan spent the last 14 years of his life in the retirement community of Brookhaven at Lexington. The family will always be grateful for the skilled, compassionate care he received from the Brookhaven staff, as well as from his Adams Nursing assistants.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 5, at 2:00 pm. in the Club Room of Brookhaven at Lexington, 1010 Waltham St.  Lexington. Any remembrances can take the form of a donation in Dr. Henning Pontoppidan's name to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation at www.pdf.org.