Dr. Kenneth Klementowski, ophthalmologist, Vietnam veteran

Sept. 1, 1940 — Oct. 17, 2008

Dr. Kenneth V. Klementowski of Grand Island, an ophthalmologist, Polish community leader and Vietnam War veteran, died Friday in Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Town of Tonawanda. He was 68.

Born in Buffalo, Dr. Klementowski graduated from Canisius High School, Canisius College and, in 1966, the University at Buffalo Medical School. He was an Army captain in Vietnam in 1967-68.

Dr. Klementowski completed his residency in 1972 and practiced at the Buffalo Eye Center. He was on the medical staffs of Kenmore Mercy and DeGraff Memorial hospitals and was an assistant professor of ophthalmology at UB from 1972 to 1996.

In 1995, he received the Am- Pol Eagle Citizen of the Year in Medicine and Buffalo-Rzeszow Sister City awards for teaching ophthalmology in Poland and for delivering $250,000 in medical supplies to Poland over several visits in the 1990s. He had a private audience with Pope John Paul II in 1998.

Dr. Klementowski, who retired in 1998, was a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American College of Surgeons and a member of the Erie County and New York State medical societies as well as the New York State and Buffalo ophthalmological societies.

He was an Eagle Scout and member of the Eagle Awards Committee and a Polish heritage enthusiast.

Survivors include a daughter, Cynthia Cable; three sons, Marc, Craig and Brian; his mother, Isabelle; two sisters, Diane Sandler and Mary Ann Love; and his companion, Carol George.

A Mass of Christian Burial was offered Tuesday in St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Amherst.