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Doctor With a Ponytail

The first time Kimberly Trudel met Frederick Rimmele III, he was far ahead on a hiking trail in New Hampshire, a dot in the distance. Gradually, he kept dropping back to others in the group, until, walking with his shirt off, he found himself chatting with Ms. Trudel. "Those hiking boots look awfully small," he said, using a pickup line straight out of an L.L. Bean catalog. She responded, "If you want to check out my feet, you could give me a foot massage at the end of this hike."

He did, and a romance blossomed. That was the summer of 1994. A year later, they became engaged on the side of a mountain in Maine. In June 1997, they married, settling in Marblehead, Mass. At 32, Dr. Rimmele was a physician who directed a residency program affiliated with Beverly Hospital in Beverly, Mass. He was popular with his patients, who, when they could not remember his name, asked for the doctor with the beard and the ponytail.

"He recognized that life was a precious gift and he never took it for granted," Ms. Trudel said of Dr. Rimmele, who was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 175. "He took advantage of every opportunity, whether it was travel or educational."

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 26, 2001.

Frederick C. Rimmele III, physician and naturalist; at 32

By Globe Staff, 9/19/2001

Frederick C. Rimmele III, a physician from Marblehead, was killed on Sept. 11 in New York City while aboard United Airlines Flight 175. Dr. Rimmele, who was en route to a medical conference in Monterey, Calif., was 32.

Dr. Rimmele was born and raised in Clifton, N.J., and attended Montclair Kimberley Academy.

In 1990, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College, where he also rowed on the crew team and edited the campus humor magazine.

In 1994, he completed his studies at Duke University School of Medicine.

He briefly entered private practice before joining the faculty of the Family Practice Residency, based at Beverly Hospital and Hunt Memorial Hospital in Danvers.

An Eagle Scout, amateur naturalist, avid Scrabble player, and dabbler in the stock market, Dr. Rimmele had a disposition that was naturally curious and inventive, said his family and friends.

He spent time with his wife, Kimberly Trudel, hiking the Swiss Alps, touring the Irish countryside, bird-watching in the rain forests of Belize, and canoeing the backwaters of Maine.

Dr. Rimmele also enjoyed bird-watching with his mother in New Jersey.

Besides his wife of four years, Dr. Rimmele leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Rimmele Jr.; his sister, Karen M. Connors; and his grandmother, Mrs. Frank Kunzier.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday in the Church of St. Andrew in Marblehead.

Editorial Obituary published in THE BOSTON GLOBE on September 19, 2001.

Dr. Frederick Rimmele, caring physician

New patients who could not recall Dr. Frederick Rimmele's name always remembered what he looked like: He was the physician with the beard and the pony-tail.

Of course, there were other things that stood out about Dr. Rimmele. He was the doctor who spent time talking with them, who made them feel at ease, who made them feel he cared.

"He was very popular with the patients," said Steven Flood, a physician who worked with Dr. Rimmele at the Foxboro Area Health Center in Massachusetts.

Dr. Rimmele, 32, who grew up in Clifton and attended Montclair Kimberley Academy, was traveling to a medical conference in Monterey, Calif., aboard United Airlines Flight 175 when terrorists crashed the plane into the World Trade Center last Tuesday.

Dr. Rimmele had left private practice about three years ago and had joined the faculty of Family Practice Residence at Beverly and Hunt Hospitals in Beverly, Mass.

Besides his passion for medicine and teaching, Dr. Rimmele, who lived in Marblehead, Mass., had a love of nature that was rooted in his days as an Eagle Scout. He and his wife, Kimberly Trudel, an executive in the software industry, hiked the Swiss Alps, toured the Irish countryside, bird-watched in the rain forests of Belize and canoed the backwaters of Maine.

Whenever he returned to New Jersey to visit family, Dr. Rimmele spent time bird-watching with his mother along the shore.

Known for his playful sense of humor, Dr. Rimmele had edited the campus humor magazine at Amherst. He also rowed on the crew team and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He completed his doctoral studies at Duke University School of Medicine in 1994 and served his residency at the Maine-Dartmouth Family Residence Practice.

A church-going Episcopalian, Dr. Rimmele was a home-brewer who also loved a good game of Scrabble.

In addition to his wife of four years, Dr. Rimmele is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Rimmele Jr.; his sister, Karen M. Connors, and his grandmother, Mrs. Frank Kunzier.

A memorial service is to be held at the Church of St. Andrew in Marblehead, Mass., Monday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, Va. 22203-1606, Reference No. 2861662.


Profile by Joe Malinconico published in THE STAR-LEDGER.