Services to be held Saturday for UNMC’s Steve Remmenga, MD

Services will be held Saturday, May 10, for UNMC’s Steve Remmenga, MD, who died May 3 at age 71.

Dr. Remmenga, professor emeritus in the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, retired from UNMC in 2022 after two decades as a faculty member. His medical center positions over that period included division director of gynecologic oncology, the McClure L. Smith Professor of Gynecological Oncology, vice chair of the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and medical director of quality and compliance at Nebraska Medicine.

Saturday’s memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. at Pella Reformed Church, 16101 Pella Road in Adams, Nebraska. Read Dr. Remmenga’s obituary at this link.

Dr. Remmenga was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving as the specialty advisor to the Navy Surgeon General for five years, where he was instrumental in starting the perinatal advisory group in Navy medicine. He received the Robert A. Ross Award for the significant contributions he made to the Navy Section of the Armed Forces District of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in 2003.

Carl Smith, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has known Dr. Remmenga for more than 50 years, something he called “an honor and a privilege.”

They both started their college careers in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the early 1970s.

“We crossed paths numerous times over the next 25 years, as I watched his distinguished Naval career develop,” Dr. Smith said. “When I became chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UNMC, I was lucky enough to recruit Steve back to UNMC as a gynecologic oncologist.”

Dr. Smith called Dr. Remmenga a consummate professional, gifted surgeon and fantastic educator. 

“As vice chair of the department, he provided steady leadership and was a great mentor to residents, students and faculty. I truly was a better person for having known him.  Many of his patients and colleagues would no doubt agree with that sentiment.”

A dedicated educator, researcher and mentor, Dr. Remmenga played a pivotal role in National Comprehensive Cancer Network committees, helping establish guidelines for diagnosing, treating and monitoring gynecologic malignancies guidelines that set global standards for patient care, which then were translated into over 50 languages. He also was an esteemed member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Kerry Rodabaugh, MD, the McClure L. Smith Professor and Division Director of Gynecologic Oncology, said it was a privilege to have been Dr. Remmenga’s clinical partner for more than 15 years.

“He exemplified a life of service, first serving his country, then his patients, but most importantly, the generations of residents and students whom he masterfully mentored and taught,” Dr. Rodabaugh said. “He was so incredibly proud of his resident alumni, kept in touch long after graduation and followed their careers with great interest. His legacy will live on and be magnified through the work of all those he touched with his teaching. He will be greatly missed.”