Irwin L. Peikes | Physician, 90

Irwin L. Peikes, 90, of Blue Bell, a physician who delivered more than 9,000 babies, died of complications from cancer Monday at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown.

Dr. Peikes maintained an obstetrics and gynecological practice in Norristown from 1952 until his retirement in the late 1980s. Among the generations of children he delivered were several nurses who cared for him when he was ill, said his daughter, Judy Chesnick.

A native of Canada, Dr. Peikes earned a bachelor's degree and a medical degree from the University of Toronto. He completed a residency at McKeesport Hospital in Pennsylvania and did post-graduate work at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Europe. In April 1945, his unit liberated a forced-labor camp in Nordhausen, Germany. For a year after the war, he cared for injured soldiers and displaced persons in Germany and attended the Nuremberg war crimes trials. He received the Bronze Star.

Following his discharge, Dr. Peikes did post-graduate work at hospitals in Rochester, N.Y., and New London, Conn., before establishing his practice.

A baseball enthusiast since childhood, he watched Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig play and witnessed Yankee Don Larsen pitch a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. He enjoyed stamp and coin collecting, opera and Philadelphia Orchestra concerts.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 64 years, Thelma Eisenberg Peikes; daughters Rebecca Kohn, Susan Gantman and Debby; a brother; and nine grandchildren.

A funeral will be at 2 p.m. today at Tiferet Bet Israel Synagogue, where Dr. Peikes was a board member, 1920 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell. Friends may call at 1 p.m. Burial will be in the synagogue cemetery.