The first time I noticed him was at a Cincinnati Dermatological Society dinner meeting about 30 years ago. He laid out a map of the state of Ohio with various cities highlighted in yellow. He was explaining to anyone who would listen that there were mutual banks in all these cities and one could open an account with a $50 and a stamp. He went to explain how someday they might convert and one could buy stock in them and make a profit. This was just after the savings and loan crisis of 1989 and we all thought he was crazy. He never gave up, so eventually I opened a few, and then one of them converted and I did make money. I then became an acolyte and because of Lou Barich I have a second career as a bank investor.
He was a fearless advocate for the City of Hamilton. I recall there was a rough bar around the corner from him that was causing significant disruption near the city center. He quietly bought the bar, and the liquor license, and shut it down.
He was an odd fellow, a little awkward in speech and manner, but a tireless patient advocate in Columbus and Washington, D.C.. Many are the times we trekked to Columbus and testified or visited state offices trying to get tanning bed restrictions in place. He told a terrible story about a young patient of his who dies of a melanoma he thought was from tanning bed use. He never quit this fight, and in his memory, neither should we, and we continue to pursue a total ban on minors using tanning beds.
He took me to the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) meetings and taught me how to write a resolution. He took me to the AAD advisory board. He encouraged me to run for President of the Ohio Dermatological Association and has attached me in one role or another at the Ohio Dermatological Foundation for 20 years. We had long discussions driving up to Columbus.
He was raised poor, so poor he had to be given to relatives to work on a farm to avoid starving to death. Yet somehow, he worked his way through college, through pharmacy school, then through medical school to become a Dermatologist.
He was frugal, but generous. He never wasted money, didn’t touch alcohol, but funded the Ohio Dermatological Foundation largely by himself. His overriding concern was that the Ohio Dermatological Association meetings might become unaffordable. He was furious years ago when foundation funds were diverted to support a faculty member’s trip to Africa, and for student and resident scholarships.
He also quietly supported the college efforts of many unknown to the rest of us. He was generous and would always stop by my office at Christmas and have gifts (books) for my children.
He was a medical pack rat. I recall that he purchased entire closed elementary schools to store his treasures in.
When he was younger, he was a tennis maniac. He converted the lot behind his office into a tennis court with complete fences the could roll in to catch the balls. I recall Jim Zalla playing singles with him there.
Lou (or Uncle Lou) received over 10 awards for his tanning advocacy as a star of the academy at the annual American Academy of Dermatology meetings. In 2014, he was given an honorary membership, one of fewer than 10 that year, the second highest award given by the AAD.
He never missed an AAD legislative fly in, and would always sneak in something about the hazards of tanning.
Some of his favorite sayings;
Hello Senior!
You can catch a lot more with honey than vinegar.
Let brainstorm!
You are the mentor, I am the mentee.
He was a private man and I had no idea he had serious medical problems. I will miss you uncle Lou, and wish I had spent more time with you when you visited last.
Sincerely,
Brett Coldiron, MD