Philip J. Wolfson, 57, surgeon

Philip J. Wolfson, 57, of Haddonfield, a pediatric surgeon and medical school professor, died Wednesday at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/Cherry Hill.

Dr. Wolfson suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by a truck while jogging near his home. He had jogged every morning around 4:30 a.m. for the last 20 years, his brother, Robert, said.

Dr. Wolfson was on the staff of Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington and the Jefferson duPont Children's Health Program in Philadelphia, and he was professor of surgery at Thomas Jefferson University.

"He was a wonderful man," said Jay S. Greenspan, chairman of the pediatrics department at Jefferson. "People were weeping in the halls."

Dr. Wolfson was extremely dedicated to the care of his young patients, Greenspan said, and loved teaching medical students.

The Jefferson Medical College Class of 2002 honored him for his commitment to his students by commissioning his portrait as a gift to the university.

Though grateful for the honor, his brother Robert said, he was very modest and was embarrassed to be in the spotlight.

Dr. Wolfson joined the Jefferson staff in 1982. Three years later, he initiated the hospital's neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program (ECMO). The procedure oxygenates a baby's blood outside the body and gives lungs that were severely damaged a chance to heal.

Jefferson's program was among the first of its kind in the country, Greenspan said, and dramatically increased the survival rate of babies with lung problems.

In addition to his duties at Jefferson, Dr. Wolfson had been on the duPont staff since 1993 and was affiliated with Bryn Mawr Hospital and Virtua West Jersey Hospital in Voorhees.

He was the author of more than 50 articles published in professional journals, contributed chapters to several textbooks, and frequently gave lectures and seminars.

A native of the Bronx, N.Y., Dr. Wolfson earned a bachelor's degree from New York University and a graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

He interned at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, and completed a residency in general surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He was a resident in pediatric surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital from 1980 to 1982.

Since 1975, Dr. Wolfson had been married to Virginia Stuerwaldt Wolfson. They met when he was in medical school and she was a nurse at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. When he was doing his internship in Canada, he regularly rode a motorcycle back to New York to visit her, Robert Wolfson said.

He managed to balance work and family, his brother said, and was devoted to his two daughters. He enjoyed skiing with them out West. He and his brother participated in long-distance bike rides and planned to bike, as they had for 10 years, in the annual 100-mile New York City Century ride next week.

In addition to his wife and brother, Dr. Wolfson is survived by his daughters Erin and Carrie, and mother, Marion Wolfson.

Funeral and burial are private. Memorial services will be scheduled at a later date.