It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend Bob Schroeder. Bob passed away on July 7 after a lengthy illness surrounded by his wife and children.
Please think of Bob when you are next outside with the sun on your face, or biking down a trail, or skiing with your family.
A driving force behind Retina Services of Illinois, Bob was a dedicated physician whose many contributions in medical, surgical retina and ocular oncology, especially for pediatric patients will serve as a lasting legacy for the profession. In addition to being a cutting-edge doctor and researcher, Bob will be remembered by all who had the privilege to know him as a devoted husband, a fiercely proud father, and a fearless adventurer.
For more than 35 years, Bob served as an Associate Professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology. He served as an integral part of the teaching program for Northwestern’s Vitreoretinal Fellowship program and had the unique specialty within retina of Ocular Oncology, focusing on choroidal melanomas, and served as one of only a handful of ophthalmologists in the country with this focus. He served as a principal investigator and co-investigator in National Institute of Health’s clinical trials and has written and contributed to innumerable peer-reviewed publications.
Bob began his career as an ophthalmology resident at the University of Chicago and completed his internship at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Maryland General Hospital, both in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed a two-year fellowship in medical and surgical Retina and Ocular Oncology at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1988, where he made lifelong friends and colleagues.
All of his life, Bob was an avid outdoorsman with sports that included heli-skiing, cycling, and flying. Bob’s love for the outdoors was second only to his greatest love, his wife, Debbie. Bob and Debbie loved to travel together and shared many of the same passions and supported one another throughout their lives together. On any given football season Sunday their loyalty for their beloved Chicago Bears found them cuddling up on the ten-yard line, consoling each other and laughing through their tears saying “we’ll get ‘em next year.”
Bob and Debbie together shared so many accomplishments, but the greatest of all was raising two beautiful children, Jonathan and Julia. Bob was tremendously proud of his children and shared his passions and spirit with them. He taught them how to play tennis, snow ski and water ski and also how to enjoy life. Bob passed on his love for tennis to Jonathan and Julia, who both played at the collegiate level. Nothing gave Bob more pleasure than watching his kids successfully compete.
Bob’s life was celebrated in a private service. Donations in Bob’s honor can be made to the Mantle Cell Lymphoma Center.
Robert Schroeder Obituary (2021) – Chicago, IL – Chicago Tribune (legacy.com)Bio
Dr. Schroeder joined Retina Services of Illinois, LLC in 1988.
An Associate Professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology in Chicago since 1988, Dr. Schroeder serves as an integral part of the teaching program for the Northwestern’s Vitreoretinal Fellowship program.
Dr. Schroeder has a unique specialty within retina, Ocular Oncology, focusing on choroidal melanomas and serves as one of only a handful of Ophthalmologists in the Country with this focus. Dr. Schroeder has served as a principal investigator and co-investigator in National Institute of Health’s clinical trials and has written and contributed to peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Schroeder was an ophthalmology resident at the University of Chicago, and completed his internship at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Maryland General Hospital both in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed a two-year fellowship in medical and surgical Retina and Ocular Oncology at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1988.
Dr. Schroeder attended medical school at the Rush Medical College in Chicago where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society and completed his degree in 1982. He received Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Board certified in Ophthalmology, Dr. Schroeder is a past President of the Chicago Ophthalmology Society, a past Board Member of the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology, and a Board Member of the Illinois Society for Prevention of Blindness. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Retinal Specialists, and Retina Society.
Dr. Schroeder is passionate and derives great solace from the unique work and research he does in the areas of retina and ocular oncology and is particularly interested in its link to the rest of internal medicine. He strives to find the optimal work/life balance and compliments his practice by embracing outdoor activities. He is an avid biker, expert skier and enjoys the challenge of participating in an annual heli-skiing outing in British Columbia. He resides in the Northern suburbs with his wife Deborah and two children.
Jeffrey R. Parnell, M.D.
Dr. Parnell joined Retina Services of Illinois, LLC in 1999.
An Assistant clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Parnell is an integral part of the teaching program for Northwestern’s Vitreoretinal Fellowship program.
Dr. Parnell completed his residency in Ophthalmology at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles, California in 1997. He completed a two year retinal fellowship at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois in 1999 the same year he joined the Retina Services of Illinois, LLC practice. He graduated in 1993 from the State University of New York, School of Medicine and Biological Sciences, in Buffalo, New York where he was Magna Cum Laude. While in medical school, he was inducted to the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society in 1992. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the State University of New York in Buffalo, New York in 1989.
A recipient of the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship, Dr. Parnell has written and contributed to several book chapters and peer-reviewed publications and has presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Ophthalmology, and Chicago Ophthalmological Society. Dr. Parnell is board certified in Ophthalmology, a member of the American Society of Retinal Specialists, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Chicago Ophthalmology Society, and the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology.
Hard-work and dedication have served as guideposts for Dr. Parnell throughout his education and practice.A native of upstate New York, Dr. Parnell’s study in the fields of medicine and ophthalmology was deeply influenced as result of witnessing a child-hood friend severely impacted by vision loss as a result of illness. This experience has helped to fuel his hard-work passion, and dedicated to his work.
In his free time, Dr. Parnell shares a passion for the outdoors with his wife Michelle and their two labs. An avid club racer, he often spends weekends travelling the country participating in sports car races.
Manthan R. Shah, M.D.
Dr. Shah is a seasoned retinal surgeon. He most recently served as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Loyola University Medical Center from 2016-2019.
Dr. Shah completed his Surgical Retina Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and his ophthalmology residency at Henry Ford Hospital’s Department of Ophthalmology in Detroit, Michigan where he served as Chief Resident from 2013-2014; he received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois in 2010, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.
He has many other awards to his name including the Vit- Buckle Society Annual Meeting Travel Grant Award, and a 2008 Research Grant from the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness. He also served as the Craig Fellow as part of the College of Medicine Summer Research Program.
He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the American Medical Association, and the Chicago Ophthalmology Society where he has served as a Board Member since 2017.
Dr. Shah is married and with his wife enjoys travel. They have visited every continent of the world including recent adventure hikes to Kenya, Tanzania and Chili. A “big” Chicago sports fan, he is also a recreational biker and marvels at the beauty of the city during his lakefront bike treks.
