Psychiatrist Robert Jeub dies at 96 of natural causes

Psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Robert Jeub was a pioneer in using modern techniques to diagnose mental illness and testified at a number of prominent criminal trials. He was so passionate about his profession that he practiced until he was 92.

He died Oct. 13 of natural causes at 96.

Jeub was a past president of the American Academy of Electroencephalography and Neurophysiology. He had a laboratory at what is now North Memorial Medical Center where he analyzed brain scans from a five-state region. Electroencephalography is a method of recording electrical activity of the brain.

While practicing in Arizona, Jeub also focused his attention on the effects of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

"There weren't many people of his caliber that actually specialized in what he did," said daughter Katherine Meshbesher. "He was pretty talented and really driven. "

Jeub was born in Minneapolis and attended St. Thomas Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1938. He graduated from the College of St. Thomas and later attended the Medical College of Wisconsin, formerly Marquette University School of Medicine.

After his residency at the University of Pennsylvania, he trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he was also a guest lecturer. He later served as a chief neurologist in the U.S. Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

Returning home to practice and raise a family, Jeub set up shop in downtown Minneapolis and worked to address mental health issues in multiple Minnesota counties. His work also focused on epilepsy and brain injuries, family members said.

Jeub testified as an expert in a number of complex cases. In 1963, he examined a Faribault youth accused of strangling his girlfriend after worrying what they should do about her pregnancy. Jeub determined the youth was not capable of formulating a plan to take someone else's life. Nevertheless, a jury found the youth guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison.

In 1967, Jeub was involved in a case where the Minnesota Supreme Court set aside a conviction of a burglar whom Jeub had diagnosed as mentally incompetent before he went to trial. Another major case involved an Anoka County man who was convicted of the 1978 second-degree murder of his wife, of third-degree felony murder of his son, and of aggravated assault on his sister-in-law. The man's defense team asserted that he was mentally ill at the time of the killings because of a lengthy history of alcoholism.

In that case, Jeub interpreted two electroencephalograms of the man: one performed in the usual manner and one performed after the defendant had ingested 6 ounces of vodka. Results of the first EEG were normal. Jeub testified that the alcohol-activated EEG showed a pattern similar to a certain percentage of patients with mental illness.

Given the nature of his practice, his daughter said there wasn't a lot of talk at home about his cases. "He couldn't really talk about patients. He would only tell us he spent the day in court," Meshbesher said. "But we knew what he was doing was important."

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, whom he married in 1952; daughters Mary Patricia Loewy of Sun Valley, Idaho; Katherine Meshbesher of Minneapolis; Michelle Wachman of Minneapolis, and Elizabeth Lenz of Minneapolis; sons Robert of Minneapolis, Michael of Minneapolis and Chris of Phoenix; and eight grandchildren. A mass of Christian burial is scheduled for Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Lake church in Plymouth. Memorials are preferred to St. Thomas Academy.

Mark Brunswick • 612-673-4434