Richard Joseph Kemme, M.D., former chairman of Malawi Orthopedic Overseas and orthopedic surgeon at the Greeley, Colorado Medical Clinic, passed away on Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the age of 94.
Dr. Kemme earned his medical degree at the St. Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and stayed to complete his orthopedic surgery residency at St. Louis University.
Dr. Kemme became the first orthopedic surgeon in central Colorado when he joined the Greeley Medical Center in Greeley, Colorado in 1961. As joint arthroplasty emerged as a practice during the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Kemme became a joint arthroplasty pioneer in a service area that included, of course, Greeley, but also Boulder and surrounding communities.
Kemme was born on March 20, 1930, in Denver, Colorado, to Theodore and Sarah Kemme. An avid adventurer, he earned his pilot’s license at the age of 15 while attending Regis High School in Denver and took up Nordic skiing in college at Regis University.
He was also a businessman and a philanthropist. He developed and owned 270 affordable apartment units in Greeley and helped found the Greeley Area Chapter of Habitat for Humanity in 1978. He served on the board and served as president for a one-year term.
After retiring from his surgical practice, for 25 years he worked with Malawi Orthopedic Overseas, an orthopedic training program in Malawi, Africa. For 12 of those years, he served as chairman. In 1994, he was honored by the White House for his work in Malawi.
In 1994, he also chaired the Northern Colorado Medical Center Foundation and was instrumental in the building of the Monfort Children’s Clinic.
Kemme was preceded in death by his wife, Mary, his parents and his siblings Theodore Kemme, Marie Helene Raleigh, and Kathleen Raleigh.
He leaves behind his children Mary Pat, Sarah, Doug, Frank, Kathleen, and Tom as well as nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
