Sherwin Siff, M.D.

Sherwin Siff passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 30, 2026, just one week before what would have been his 88th birthday. He was born on September 5, 1938, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the late Hyman and Ida Siff and older sister Gail. In the decades that followed, he would build a life of extraordinary purpose — as a healer, a teacher, a soldier, a rancher, a father, and a devoted husband — leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him. Sherwin began his educational career at Washington and Jefferson College. He earned his Medical Degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Orthopedic Surgery. Before Sherwin ever set foot in the Texas Medical Center, he served his country first. He enlisted in the United States Air Force, and in two years of service he demonstrated the same drive and excellence that defined his entire life. He achieved the rank of Captain and was named Chief of Surgery at Holloman Air Force Base, a distinction that spoke to the kind of physician and leader he was early in his career. Well into his eighties, Sherwin stood among the foremost orthopedic surgeons in the Texas Medical Center. Over the course of his remarkable career, he treated hundreds of thousands of patients, bringing to each encounter a combination of gifts that is extraordinarily rare: exceptional clinical judgment, extraordinary surgical skill and finesse, and a bedside manner that patients described as nothing short of transformative. For many years, Sherwin served as a Full Clinical Professor at Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where generations of orthopedic surgeons and medical students were privileged to learn from a true master of the craft. He served with distinction as Chief of Orthopedics, Chief of the Operating Room, Chief of the Foot Service, and Chief of Emergency Room at St. Luke's Hospital, earning the deep respect of colleagues and staff throughout the institution. He spent his final 8 years in practice at Houston Methodist Hospital. His legacy in Houston medicine is immeasurable. Beyond the operating room and teaching responsibilities, Sherwin loved his Five Star Ranch, and the name he chose for it tells you everything about the man. Sherwin and his beloved wife, Jackie, named their ranch in honor of their five children — because nothing in his life, not the accolades or the achievements, gave him greater joy than they did. The ranch itself was no small enterprise. Sherwin raised a celebrated line of full-blood Wagyu cattle that regularly earned top honors at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, including the title of Grand Champion four years in a row. He approached ranching the way he approached medicine and military service: with passion, with standards, and with a desire to do it at the highest possible level. But if Sherwin had one great love, it is the love of his life, his beloved Jackie. This year, they celebrated 65 years of marriage. Their bond is everlasting and forged in a history of blessings, love and happiness. Sherwin is survived by the five stars of his life: his children Scott Siff (Kinney Zalesne), Jodi Siff (Brian Rubin), Todd Siff (Betsy Siff), Jaime Siff Perkins (Aaron Perkins), and Jessica Beinart (Garth Beinart), and all his beloved grandchildren: Matthew Siff, Adina Siff, Jacqueline Metzger, Gideon Siff, Sean Rubin, Nate Rubin, Lindsey Siff, Madison Siff, Brett Siff, Abigail Perkins, Isabel Perkins, Samantha Perkins, Jacob Beinart, Noah Beinart, Kyle Beinart, and Savannah Beinart. He loved each of them without condition or reservation, stood by them on their best days and their hardest one, and took quiet, immeasurable pride in watching them grow into mensches — people of character and integrity — in his own image. Sherwin Siff lived an exceptional life — not because of the honors and titles, but because of how he showed up for people, his country, his patients, his students, his family, and Jackie. The space he leaves behind is immense. In lieu of memorial donations, the family requests that donations be made to the Blood Cancer United, formerly The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Announces New Funding for Lifesaving Cancer Breakthroughs | Blood Cancer United, (https://bloodcancerunited.org/resources/newsroom/blood-cancer-united-formerly-leukemia-lym phoma-society-announces?campaign=813273) or the Annual Campaign Tribute, (https://secure.qgiv.com/for/annualcampaigntribute).

Sherwin Siff, M.D.

September 5, 1938 - August 30, 2026