As a board-certified pediatrician, Ida Nakashima Schneck was instrumental in shaping the lives of young people through her practice at Colorado General Hospital (now University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus), its Adolescent Clinic and Young Mothers Clinic. But that’s just part of Ida’s many accomplishments over her remarkable life.
When Ida Nakashima Schneck started practicing medicine in Denver during the 1950s, there was little in the way of medical resources for indigent adolescents. A pediatrician, Ida quickly developed a capacity to guide and advise teens, especially those struggling with unplanned pregnancies, obesity and troubled home lives.
“Because my mom lived an incredibly varied life and is immensely practical, she could dispense practical advice without judgment,” said daughter Lisa Schneck.
The Bumpy Road to a Medical Career
Ida’s parents emigrated from Japan in the 1910s and settled in California, eventually operating a grape farm. They raised three children during the Great Depression. Ida was always intellectually curious and excelled in her schoolwork. Early on, she decided that the life of a farm wife was not for her.
Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, the Nakashima family, along with all the other members of the local Japanese-American community, were forced to sell, store or give away all their goods and property and report to internment camps. The Nakashimas were first assigned to a camp in nearby Merced, California, and then moved to a camp outside Granada, Colorado.
While interned, Ida continued her studies and earned a college scholarship to Parsons College in Iowa, where she graduated with a biology degree in 1946. The next year, she attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, but her residency was delayed when she contracted tuberculosis in 1951. She battled the disease at National Jewish Hospital in Denver for a year, eventually having part of a lung removed.
Such a daunting setback near the end of her medical school education did not deter Ida from returning to finish medical school in 1953. “Mom is the most resilient person I’ve ever known,” said Lisa.
Marriage, Pediatrics & Motherhood
Ida served her residency in pediatrics at several Colorado hospitals, where she met her future husband, New Yorker Stuart Schneck, who became a neurologist. They wed in 1956.
The couple set up house in Denver and raised two children, Lisa and Chris. All the while, Ida worked as a pediatrician, first as chief resident at Denver General Hospital and Colorado General Hospital. She helped children and adolescents whose families were on public assistance or near the poverty line deal with disease, illness and obesity.
After becoming board certified, Ida became an attending physician in the Pediatric Clinic at Colorado General, supervising residents and students. She served in the Adolescent Clinic, a new concept when it was created in 1958, for more than 20 years. That led to the establishment of the Young Mothers Clinic, because “I felt these kids needed a lot more attention, more frequent clinic visits, more explanation and more time.” The Young Mothers Clinic served mothers up to age 18 — most of whom were poor — and their infants. Staff taught them essential parenting skills. Ida notes that she most enjoyed work in adolescent gynecology and pregnancy.
Trailblazer
Ida juggled the demands of raising a family, tending to her flourishing career and supporting a spouse climbing his own career ladder. Her energy, intellect and drive promoted success at all three.
Early in their marriage, Stuart mentored Ida in the fine art of hiking — where to go, what to wear, how to identify the myriad of plants and animals. With their young kids in tow, the Schnecks hiked often. Once Lisa and Chris were on their own, the couple continued to enjoy the Colorado high country, publishing The Geezers’ Guide to Colorado Hikes when Ida was 79. At 89, she and Stuart authored a second book, Eastern Colorado’s Small Museums and Other Treasures. You can find both books in Springbrooke’s library.
Reflections
What makes Ida happiest? “Feeling that I am loved and that I have the ability to love others and do what I can for them.” Guiding principles? “I try to be honest and fair. To be truthful.”
Ida Nakashima Schneck has been part of the Springbrooke family for nearly a year. She is now 96. Both her children live in the Denver area and visit often.
“I can say now that I’m living a contented life. I think I’ve been very fortunate, overall.”
