A Commitment to Serve: In Remembrance of Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE (1943–2013) and Harry Keen, MD (1925–2013)

In the 17 years that I have managed the Diabetes Care Editorial Office, my staff and I have assisted thousands of authors, editors, and reviewers. We have become friends with more of them than we could begin to count. Sadly, we recently lost two especially dear friends, Richard R. Rubin, PhD, CDE, and Harry Keen, MD. Richard lost his battle with cancer on March 25; Harry died unexpectedly on April 5 while undergoing treatment for lymphoma. We were honored that these great men not only wrote and reviewed articles for Diabetes Care but also served the journal in editorial roles: Richard as an Associate Editor (2002–2004) and Harry as a member of the Editorial Board (2001– 2003). Over the years, as our friendships with them grew, they shared family stories and hobby interests with us. It was not unusual for either to e-mail our office, just to send a photo or a “Hope all is going well.” Our friendship with Richard began during his time as an Associate Editor of Diabetes Care. He remained a frequent reviewer for the journal after his editorial duties ended—and even after his cancer diagnosis. Richard loved his family and photography and would often send us pictures of his photo projects, the grandkids, or himself and his wife, Karan. After learning that my avocation is writing, he never failed to ask how my book was going, or if I had even been able to do any writing lately. He never complained about the downward trend in his health. Instead, he spent his time living life. Richard was one of those people who inspires others to focus on the best in life, not the worst. Our friendship with Harry dates from 12 years ago, when we began recognizing top reviewers for Diabetes Care. During the early years of this program, the Editorial Office sent each top reviewer a colored glass mug with gold lettering as a small token of thanks. Harry, then in his 70s, never failed to “win” a mug. He once commented that he was aiming to earn a whole set for his mantle and mentioned that they made great beer mugs! Harry loved working with clay and creating pottery. Once, he sent photos of a failed project and the look of surprise on his face when it collapsed. Harry taught us that, from time to time, we need to be able to laugh at ourselves. Richard received his BA in history from the Johns Hopkins University in 1965 and his PhD in social psychology from Hopkins in 1971 (1). Harry graduated from London’s St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in 1948. Each man had his own story on why his career turned toward diabetes.