Dr. Mehmet Burhan Say, Md

Burhan Say, M.D., died at his Tulsa home Sunday, August 3, 2014. Mehmet Burhanettin (Burhan) Say was born February 26, 1923, in Ankara, Turkey, to parents Ayse and Serif Say. Dr. Say was a prominent pediatrician and geneticist who throughout his life espoused lofty humanist ideals, much like the new Turkish Republic in which he was raised. For both Dr. Say and the new nation, the health of Turkey’s children was paramount. In fact, Dr. Say’s overwhelming lifelong passion and singular objective was to relieve the suffering of children. He attended Ankara Lycee and Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine. In 1946, he traveled to the United States to continue his medical training, completing his pediatric residency in Nashville, followed by a pediatric hematology residency at Temple University, Philadelphia, under the direction of the renowned Dr. Waldo Nelson, referred to as the “Father of Pediatrics.” In Nashville he met Eugenia Elizabeth Jackson (Jean), the beautiful young nurse who in 1955 became his beloved wife for nearly 40 years. After the birth of their first son, Tony, in Nashville, the family returned in 1957 to Ankara,Turkey, where son, Dan, was born.
After returning to Ankara, Prof. Burhan Say, M.D., was recruited by noted Harvard-educated Turkish pediatrician, Ihsan Dogramaci, at that time first Faculty of Medicine Dean of Ankara’s new Haceteppe University. Dogramaci sought out Dr. Say to join his crusade to advance pediatric health care through Haceteppe University’s Child Health Institute. They sought to honor the legacy of former German émigré and pediatrician, Albert Eckstein, by promoting medical professionalism and expanding health care delivery in Turkey. In addition to his key role establishing Haceteppe Hospital, Dr. Say and these other two committed doctors are credited with the modernization of health care and medical education in Turkey. In 1962, as Chief of Pediatric Hematology at Haceteppe University, Dr. Say received a Rockefeller Foundation grant to observe research and teaching in pediatrics and pediatric hematology in the U.S. and Europe. From 1966-1968, he was a Fulbright Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School to study Medical Genetics. Upon his return to Turkey in 1968, Dr. Say founded Turkey’s first medical genetics department at Haceteppe University, combining pediatrics, hematology and genetic clinical research.
Dr. Say returned to the United States in 1973, to establish a genetics department at Children’s Medical Center in Tulsa. He worked as a clinical professor at the University of Oklahoma Medical School, Tulsa, and soon after founded the H.A. Chapman Research Institute of Human Genetics, dedicated to pediatric genetic research and counseling. It grew into a well-established genetics medical research center with far-reaching impact. Dr. Say retired from clinical practice in 2005, at the age of 83.
During his career, Dr. Say published hundreds of research papers, independently and collaboratively, in medical journals worldwide and presented his findings at international seminars. He was a Founding Fellow of the Turkish Society of Hematology, a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, a member of the American College of Pediatrics and served on the Oklahoma Genetics Advisory Council until his retirement. Beginning with a 1968 article describing “Say Syndrome,” Dr. Say discovered multiple genetic syndromes that bear his name. He continued learning and teaching throughout his career. He never forgot that the true objective of his work was to promote the welfare of children versus gaining personal recognition and acclaim. Dr. Say was an extraordinary man who treated everyone he encountered with kindness and respect. He liked people, all people, and he loved his family. Dr. Say will be missed by many, especially his beloved grandchildren, who will miss his humor and love.
Dr. Say is preceded in death by his parents, wife Jean Say, sister Mufide and husband Ercument Palabiyikoglu, brothers Orhan and Turhan, and brother-in-law William Neese. He is survived by son Tony S. Say and wife Katie, son Daniel D. Say and wife Rita, grandchildren Mollie, Emily and Caroline Say, and Nicholas Say, sister-in-law Jo Neese, and many adoring nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Turkey. The family wishes to thank Altay Ertugrul for his enduring friendship, special caregivers Norma Felkner and Jeannie Miller, and the many supportive caregivers who comforted and cared for him in recent years. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 9 at 2p.m. at Schaudt-Teel Funeral Service, 5757 S. Memorial Dr., Tulsa. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to March of Dimes of Oklahoma, notation “Dr. Burhan Say,” 5100 N. Brookline, Ste. 850, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.