IN MEMORIAM

Dr. John L. Cahill

November 4, 1932 – August 15, 2024

John Lewis Cahill (Jack), age 91, passed away peacefully on, August 15th, 2024, in Charlotte NC surrounded by his family. Jack is survived by his wife Beverly to whom he was married for 67 years; children John (Barbara Brandt), Lisa and Lauren (Fred LeFranc), grandson, Colin and his sister Peggy (Margaret) Martin.

Jack was born on November 4, 1932, in Seattle WA, son of the late Alice and Harry Cahill, former vice president and general manager of the Seattle Times. He attended Roosevelt High School and the University of Washington where he received his undergraduate degree. He then attended The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he completed his medical school training. Jack married Beverly Benson of Bremerton in August 1957. He served as an Intern in Surgery at Hopkins, then became Junior Assistant Resident in Surgery at the former Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Jack served as Assistant Resident in Surgery at Children’s Hospital Medical Center, also in Boston. He became Senior Resident in Surgery at the Brigham, then served as Resident Surgeon (Pediatric Surgery) at The Johns Hopkins Hospital Children’s Medical and Surgical Center. Jack and his young family moved to London, England where he completed his surgical training as Senior Thoracic Surgical Registrar at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.

Upon returning to the US, Jack moved back to Seattle where he served countless patients at Swedish Hospital, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Northwest Hospital for many years. He was an active member of American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA), Pacific Surgical Association (PSA), the Seattle Surgical Society and an overseas member of the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons (BAPS). Jack and Beverly moved to California in 1989 where he served as Chief of Pediatric Surgery for Kaiser Permanente at Santa Clara for the next 10 years. After retiring, they lived in Coronado, CA and later moved to Indian Wells, CA where he volunteered for the Coachella Valley Volunteers of Medicine for 6 years, then permanently relocated to Charlotte, NC to live near family.

From a young age, Jack had a passion for the water, especially sailing. He purchased his first boat, a Geary 18, when he was a teen. He was a member of the UW Men’s rowing crew from 1951-54. When Jack had time off, he could be found on his beloved sailboat and he loved both racing and cruising throughout the Pacific Northwest, California, Mexico and the BVI’s. He was a lifetime member of the Seattle Yacht Club and an honorary member of the Cruising Club of America. Over the years he and Beverly enjoyed many memorable sailing and cruising adventures with friends.

Dr. Richard Alan Courtney

1936 – 2024

Dr. Richard Alan Courtney, beloved husband, father, and grandfather died May 16, 2024, in St. Petersburgh, Florida surrounded by his family.

Dr. Courtney was born on July 20, 1936, in Syracuse NY to the late Dr. Harold and Martha Courtney. He was born and raised in Syracuse and attended Syracuse University where he was a pre-med student and track star. After graduating from State University of New York College of Medicine, he moved to Boston and began his residency at Tufts New England Medical Center followed by a Pediatric Surgical residency at Boston Floating Hospital. After finishing his training, he was recruited by Baystate Medical Center in Springfield MA to become the first pediatric surgeon in the Western MA area where he served as Chief of Pediatric Surgery. His dedication to his profession combined with his work ethic and drive led him to be the recipient of the Clinician of the Year award in 2008 – “he was a pioneer in the surgical community and staunch advocate for children serving generations of children in the community”. Not only was he an accomplished surgeon, but he was also recognized for his superior teaching ability and training of the residents.

He proudly served his country as a Captain in the US Army Corps Army Reserve.

He leaves behind his wife of 43 years, Geraldine Condon Courtney from Tierra Verde, Florida. He is lovingly survived by his two daughters; Carol Judge (Stephen) of Naples FL, and Christine Welch (Gerard) of Andover MA, and his adored grandchildren; MacKensie Judge, and Courtney & Alex Karelas. He also leaves behind his three stepsons – Scott McEwan (Ann Marie), Glenn McEwan (Julia) and Brian McEwan (Rhonda) and two step grandchildren, John & James McEwan.

“In his spare time”, Dick was an avid hunter and traveled the world skiing, scuba diving, sailing, and boating. He had a lifelong love of Labrador Retrievers (Whiskey, Brandy, Coco, Buddy, Holly, and Chance), biking, and spending summers at his favorite place on earth – Courtney Island on Blue Mt Lake, NY. Dick began spending summers there at the age of 18 and this is where his final resting place will be.

Dick was loved by so many, and he will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he touched with his kindness and generosity.

Sept. 27, 1930 – March 31, 2024

Dale Gedge Johnson, M.D. passed away on March 31st, 2024 surrounded by his family. After 93 years of relentless activity – intellectual and physical – Dale’s body finally wore out. He was disappointed his life had to end so soon. There was still much to learn, lessons to teach, and adventures to plan. Dale was a guiding star to many, a position he earned through hard work, dedication, service, and honor and respect for every individual – and every patient – he connected with. His skills and extraordinary care touched untold numbers of children and their families. We will never forget our father’s gentle strength and goodness, his unassailable character, and all his accomplishments.

Dale, the eldest son of Morris and Leah Johnson, was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. At age six he played the violin and, although he relinquished that pursuit for others, Dale’s perfect pitch and passion for classical, choral, and operatic music were mainstays throughout his life.

Dale’s experiences while serving an LDS mission to South Africa enlarged his world; it may have been there that he fully internalized the values of service and compassion that he practiced for 70+ more years, and his missionary companions were among his closest, lifelong friends. Upon returning to Utah to complete undergraduate studies at the University of Utah, he met his lasting love, Beverly Clark. They were married shortly after in the Salt Lake Temple. Music was their glue; decades later they enjoyed singing together in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Dale completed medical school at the U, relocated to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with his young family for surgical residency and, following military service research, accepted a position at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In the first in a long series of academic appointments, Dale also served as Professor of Surgery and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General, and Dale were responsible for establishing pediatric surgery as a new area of surgical specialization that would transform medical treatment for newborns and young children.

A turn of events led Dale to move his family back to Salt Lake City. He served as Surgeon-in-Chief at Primary Children’s Medical Center and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery from 1971-2001, alongside appointments as Professor of Surgery and Professor of Pediatrics with the University of Utah School of Medicine. We saw too little of him as he began his practice alone, building Primary’s Department of Pediatric Surgery to create the nationally recognized entity it is today. He treated infants and children from five continents, educated, trained, and mentored countless young surgeons, and shared his expertise abroad. In a show of appreciation to Dale’s years of medical service to the children and surgeons of Poland, he was invited to sing with the Polish National Choir (and memorized the songs in Polish), including a trip to the Vatican to perform for Pope John Paul II, the first Polish Pope. We’re not sure how our dad juggled all of his endeavors, but his optimistic disposition prevailed under often grueling circumstances, and his ability to run on fumes helped. At the most basic level, medicine was a calling for Dale; his colleagues recall him operating in a ski boot for a time so that a foot injury didn’t preclude his being there for patients.

In recognition of his innovations and years of service in medicine, Dale was honored with numerous awards for distinguished service, teaching, and mentoring. His commitment to the medical profession included leadership positions in more than 25 national and international medical organizations, including Past President of the American Pediatric Surgical Association; Past President of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons; the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Surgical Association; and the Lilliputian Surgical Society.

In addition to carving turns in knee-deep powder at Utah’s ski resorts or helicopter skiing in Canada, Dale relished biking, rollerblading, and beekeeping; he read prodigiously, built part of his own tennis court, maintained a garden, and adored computers. He enjoyed giving generously to people in need, as well as to his own family members.

Dale is survived by his wife of 72 years, Beverly Clark Johnson; his brother Gordon (VeeDrienne) Johnson; his children, Pam (Robert) Fillmore, Paul (Martha) Johnson, Charlotte (Shawn) Ferrin, and Peter (Mel) Johnson; 13 grandchildren; 42 great-grandchildren; and three great-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Morris and Leah Johnson, and siblings Gaylen (Alaire) Johnson and Elaine (Hal) Sharp.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 11th, at 12 noon, at the LDS Hilltop Ward Chapel, 589 East 18th Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah. Friends may call at the Ward prior to services from 10:30-11:30 am. Interment will be at the Salt Lake Cemetery. We are grateful to family members, friends, and healthcare providers who supported and loved him to the end. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in memory of Dale to Primary Children’s Medical Center or Project HOPE.

Friends and family are welcome to join the services virtually by clicking on the “Watch Services” link above.

Growing up during the Great Depression, Edward’s family faced hardship, prompting a move to Provo, Utah, in search of better job opportunities and to be closer to his mother’s family. Edward, the middle child, shared his upbringing with his older brother, Ledger (who became a lawyer), and his younger brother, Robert (who also practiced law). All three brothers would serve this country during WWII. Edward and his brother Ledger also served in the Korean War.

From a young age, Edward aspired to become a doctor, influenced by the compassionate care he received from Dr. Culimore during an illness as a youth. His determination and focus led him to pursue his dream relentlessly. He attended Brigham Young University before entering the Navy in 1943. He qualified for the Navy’s V-12 program (designed to graduate officers from participating universities during World War II).
Edward was then sent to the University of New Mexico, the University of Colorado, and finally Stanford University in 1945 to complete his pre-med education. He entered medical school at Stanford and with the help of scholarship monies and by working in a blood lab, he was able to afford medical school which was at that time located in San Francisco. His Passion for pediatric surgery blossomed during his medical internship at Bellevue Hospital and surgical residency at New York Hospital, where he witnessed the need for specialized care for infants and children.

While at New York Hospital, the army determined that Edward still owed them a few months of service for the V-12 program, so in 1952 he entered the army to serve as a surgeon in Berlin during the Korean War. Once he returned from his military service, Edward pursued training in pediatric surgery under the mentorship of Dr. C. Everett Koop at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. After training in general and pediatric surgery on the East Coast, Edward was hired as a professor at Stanford University but ultimately decided to go into private practice in Oakland, California instead.
Alone at first, but with his wife (Gretchen) acting as his office manager and secretary, he founded Pediatric Surgical Associates of the East Bay, which flourished and grew to seven partners. Edward retired in 1996 at the age of 72. Edward’s dedication extended beyond his practice. He was a founding member and played a vital role in establishing the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) and he also played a crucial role in the establishment of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA).

Throughout his career, Edward remained committed to advancing pediatric surgery through his practice and research. He earned board certifications in General, Thoracic and Pediatric surgery. He was recognized for his contribution to medicine by receiving the Bronze Bambino Award, a lifetime achievement award presented annually to an outstanding member of the medical staff by Children’s Hospital of Oakland, CA.

Edward was also deeply involved in the Heart-to-Heart Program which was founded during the Cold War in 1989 to save babies and children in the USSR from dying of congenital heart defects. He made multiple trips to St. Petersburg’s Hospital No. 1 as a member of the Heart to Heart program to help train Russian doctors in the latest neonatal surgical techniques in infants. He also privately sponsored Russian surgeons to come to Children’s Hospital in Oakland to train.

In 1957, Edward married Gretchen Marx who he met when they were both working at New York Hospital, and together they raised five children: Jonathan, Ashby, Amelia, Heidi and Ledger. After Gretchen’s passing in 2000, Edward married Carol Evans in 2001. They had a house built in Prescott, AZ in 2008 and moved there from Fairfield, CA to be nearer to two of Edward’s daughters and Carol’s daughter and family.

Beyond his medical career, Edward had multiple interests including many fly-fishing trips with friends, playing competitive tennis into his early 90’s, and always pursuing learning with a passion. He would regularly engage strangers and promote participation in OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Yavapai College. He had an unfailing dedication to daily exercise and eating healthy in his later years. He loved telling jokes and being a buddy to his beloved dog, Marcus. He was especially proud of having climbed the Matterhorn in Switzerland as a young man.

Edward is survived by his wife, Carol Evans of Prescott, Arizona, his daughter Ashby Free of Cave Creek, Arizona, his son Ledger D. Free (Rebecca VerNooy) of Athens, Ohio, his grandson, Ledger Fisher VerNooy Free, and Carol’s daughter Kira and son Shawn and their families. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Gretchen Free, his son Jonathan Free, his daughters Amelia and Heidi Free, and his brothers, Ledger and Robert Free. Edward’s legacy of dedication, honesty, and service will continue to inspire all who knew him. May he rest in peace.

A profound sense of sadness marked the passing of Professor Michael Höllwarth, who died peacefully at home on March 12, 2024, with his partner Christa by his side.

Michael was an outstanding paediatric surgeon and person. During the last three decades, he was an influential force in shaping the progress of our specialty.  He was a dynamic and visionary leader who generated respect and admiration throughout his career.

Michael was one of the major architects, both in Europe and Internationally, in the advancement of paediatric surgery. Through his contributions, the impact that this small city of Graz has had on the development of paediatric surgery worldwide is unimaginable.

I first had the pleasure of meeting Michael, together with Massimo Rivosecchi, in 1975 when they were visiting Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to attend a British Council Course on neonatal surgery, while I was a surgical resident there (Fig. 2). I distinctly remember my first interactions with this smart, inquisitive and amicable young man from Austria. Little did I know at that time, that this interaction would blossom into such a long lasting friendship. In the ensuing years, I have such fond memories of our time spent together, from trips to various conferences around the world, long hours spent editing books and journals, and promoting basic science research amongst the young generation of paediatric surgeons. He was a true legend and a wonderful friend.

Michael was born on May 3, 1943 in Reutte, Tyrol, Austria. He graduated from the Innsbruck Medical University in 1968 and finished his training in General Surgery in 1974 in Innsbruck. He was a resident in  Paediatric Surgery under Professor Fritz Rehbein in Bremen, Germany from 1974-1975.  In 1975, he became Associate Professor at the University Clinic for Paediatric Surgery under Professor Hugo Sauer and in 1981 he was elected Full Professor of Paediatric Surgery. From 1985 to 1986, he was Research Associate in the Department of Physiology in Mobile, Alabama, under Professor Neil Granger. From 1989 to 1990, he was Professor and Head of the Department of Paediatric Surgery in Bern, Switzerland. In 1997, he was elected Professor and Head of the University Clinic of Paediatric and Adolescent Surgery at the Medical University in Graz, Austria where he remained until his retirement in 2012. He also served as the Vice Medical Director of the University Hospital of Graz and the General Director for Medicine and Nursing for the Hospitals of the Styrian region of Austria.

One of Michael’s greatest achievements was to develop the Paediatric Surgical Centre in Graz, so that it is now considered as one of the best paediatric surgical centres in Europe, particularly in the field of intestinal failure management, sports trauma and accident prevention in children.  Michael pioneered the establishment of the Accident Prevention Centre in Graz.  Numerous paediatric surgeons from around the world have benefited from his knowledge and teaching in this field. Through his work, he has touched the lives of so many families.

In my opinion, his greatest contribution to the field of paediatric surgery and one which changed the face of paediatric surgery in Europe was the foundation of the European Paediatric Surgeons’ Association (EUPSA), with individual membership of paediatric surgeons from all countries in Europe.  He was elected the Founding President of the new EUPSA.  He had a passion for providing quality surgical care to all children throughout Europe, including Eastern Europe, and he made sure that the annual membership fee of EUPSA was 30 Euros and thus affordable for all.  He wrote the Statutes and Bylaws of this organisation, laying foundations for the highest possible standards of education, training and research in our specialty. EUPSA in a short span of time has grown to have the largest membership of paediatric surgeons in the world. Michael made invaluable contributions to enhance the EUPSA brand and its reputation.  There is no other person who has worked more years, with more passion and enthusiasm for EUPSA than Michael.  Maturity, balance and hard work defined his leadership and served as an inspiration to all.

Michael was also instrumental in establishing the Journal “Paediatric Surgery International”. He and the late Prof. Alois Scharli realized that there was only one Journal in our speciality in the English language and that there was a need for another journal. They founded the Paediatric Surgery International in 1986, which is now the second most prestigious journal in our specialty and has seen an increase in impact factor every year for the past several  years.  This has been a remarkable contribution which has benefited paediatric surgeons worldwide, both in the developed and the developing world.

Michael was always interested in research and had a very inquiring mind. In the late 1980’s, on realising that there was no forum for young paediatric surgeons to present their laboratory and experimental research, Michael and I established an International Board of Paediatric Surgical Research. This was the first forum solely devoted to young paediatric surgeons to present their laboratory and experimental research. The main objective of the International Board of Paediatric Surgical Research was to organise an International Symposium on Paediatric Surgical Research (ISPSR), bringing together investigators who, through an annual meeting, would contribute to the progress of research in paediatric surgery. Over the years, the ISPSR has become a global research forum presenting high quality research in our speciality.  This year is the 37th International Symposium on Paediatric Surgical Research and it will take place at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden from 19-21 September, 2024.

Michael always enjoyed mixing the things he loved in life with his professional career. A wonderful example of this was the development of the Paediatric Surgical Week in the ski resort, Kühtai, Austria.  It began in the year 2000, when he invited 20 eminent paediatric surgeons from all parts of the world to gather in Kühtai for a week.  It provided a wonderful opportunity for paediatric surgeons, both through the formal sessions and especially through the informal gatherings to develop links and collaborations with others in clinical networking and basic science research.

His extraordinary ability as a leader in our specialty was recognised by many awards and honours. He was the Founding President of the European Pediatric Surgeons Association (EUPSA), President of the Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgeons and Austrian Committee of Accident Prevention in Childhood. He received several medals for outstanding contribution to Pediatric Surgery including the Great Honorary Medal of Gold of the Styrian Government and the Styrian Award for the rights of Children. Michael received the Kafka Medal of the Czech Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the Rehbein Medal from the EUPSA, the Denis Brown Gold Medal from the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the World Federation of Pediatric Surgical Associations. Many surgical organisations around the world have bestowed Honorary Membership on Michael.  To name a few; he was the Honorary Member of the Baltic, Czech, German, Hungarian, Indian, and Swiss Associations of Paediatric Surgeons.

Michael’s research interests included gastro-esophageal reflux in children and short bowel syndrome and accident prevention in children. He published over 230 articles in peer-reviewed Journals and over 40 chapters in Pediatric Surgical Textbooks. He was the Co-editor of four Pediatric Surgical Books including the widely acclaimed Pediatric Surgery (Springer Surgery Atlas Series).

Michael is survived by his partner Christa, wife of many years Susan, sons Tobias, Florian and Stefan, daughters-in-law Sigrid, Karin and Bettina, and grandchildren Julia, Fabian, Benjamin, Lilian and Julian.

Michael was a remarkable paediatric surgeon and visionary leader in our specialty. He was an inspirational and unique person. He meant so much to so many paediatric surgeons not only for the remarkable contributions he made to our speciality but for his love of meeting paediatric surgeons from all over the world, talking to them and listening to their views. He was a remarkable person who will always be remembered with fondness and gratitude by all who knew him personally.

For me personally, it was a privilege to have this extraordinary person as my close friend for 49 years. I have the fondest memories of our visits together over the years to various parts of the world.

Michael, we will miss you. May you rest in peace.

Prem Puri

University College Dublin, Ireland

Dr. Peter Klaus Kottmeier, distinguished service professor of pediatric surgery, emeritus at the State University of New York Downstate Health Science Center in Brooklyn, died on October 29, 2023 of recent onset congestive heart failure, at age 95. Death came peacefully in his sleep, at home in his own bed, surrounded by his loving wife Patricia and his children. A life well lived.

The story begins in Munich in 1928, when Peter was born to a hausfrau mother and an international insurance executive father. His parents, of some social standing, didn’t like Prussians, Nazis or communists. They were not politically active which attracted the unwelcome attention of the Gestapo, who visited his father’s office and demanded that Herr Kottmeier hang a picture of Hitler on the office wall. At age 14 Peter was invited to join the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) and politely declined, and remarkably “got away with it”. In 1944 when Hitler was running out of soldiers, 16 year old Peter and all his classmates were drafted as a group into the Luftwaffe (air force) and assigned to antiaircraft artillery, but allowed to continue their education. He was discharged a few months later in 1945 (by administrative error, which had decided he was dead), took and passed the entrance exam for the University of Munich medical school, and enrolled (at age 17) and received the M.D. degree five years later. He was then assigned to the required one-year internship in a small rural community hospital, and returned to the university as a first year resident in pathology. His professors recommended him for a second year at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) branch at the U.S. Army Hospital in Landstuhl (still the Army’s major academic and referral center in Europe), which was his first exposure to Americans and American culture. The AFIP’s main office was in Texas, and the army pathologists at Landstuhl arranged further training for him with their pathology colleagues at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in San Antonio. Relocation appealed to his sense of adventure.

The move to San Antonio led to a fortunate circumstance. Immigration law required a one year internship for foreign medical graduates before specialty training. Interns at Baptist lived in the basement of the staff house, and in the upstairs chapel a piano (which could be heard in the basement) was available to nursing students. A little investigation established that one nurse in particular was a frequent pianist. “We met over a Mozart sonata” he said, beginning a 67-year endless love affair in which music and family remained prominent. Peter and Pat married in April, 1956 during the last months of his pathology residency.

The exposure to surgery and surgeons as a pathologist led him to see surgery as more interesting career, better suited to his personality as an action hero rather than someone who swept up afterwards. With his relative youth and a working wife to support them surgical training could be considered, and together they filled out applications for residencies and he was accepted into Clarence Dennis’ program at the State University of New York in Brooklyn. A member of the selection committee

observed “at least we won’t have to teach him anatomy”. Dr. Dennis was the first full-time chairman at Downstate and was building the department one division at a time. He had already added a cardiothoracic service and research lab, the country’s first division of trauma surgery, and one of the first in vascular surgery. It was an exciting place. Next on the agenda was pediatric surgery (at a time when many prominent chairmen of surgery denied there was such a specialty). At the end of training Dr. Dennis offered his outstanding resident the deal you couldn’t refuse – train with Bill Clatworthy in Columbus and come back to start a division of pediatric surgery.

“Train with Bill Clatworthy”, a simple-sounding phrase, is actually a life-changing experience (trust me!). Dr. Clatworthy had learned his trade as one of Dr. Gross’ first residents (1948) and re-created the Boston Children’s model at Columbus Children’s Hospital. Clatworthy also passed his and Dr. Gross’s teaching methods on to Dr. Kottmeier (1960-61), so the new service at Kings County Hospital (a public hospital being made into an academic center, despite itself) was on a direct line to the origins of pediatric surgery.

When Peter arrived back in Brooklyn it didn’t take long for the rest of the hospital to note his return. His first weekend was spent physically moving surgical patients from the pediatric wards to an unused hospital floor, in a single stroke creating a separate pediatric surgical service (Gross: “No one takes care of our patients except us”).

He attracted a devoted nursing staff when word got around that he respected nurses and depended on them. The nurses had a direct line to him 24/365 and were encouraged to use it (tactfully) as necessary. (“Oh, Dr. xxxxx, Dr. Kottmeier is on the phone and would like to talk to you”).Whenever a rare nursing vacancy occurred there was a line to get in.

A resident’s success on Kottmeier’s new service was easy: know every milliequivalent of everything that went into your patient, and why, know the specific gravity of the last voided urine, know the most recent 8-hourly weight of infants and daily weight of older children (Clatworthy: “it’s the little things that count”), know the plan for the next 8 hours (Kottmeier: “8 hours in a child….”), know every detail of the history of the present illness and the past medical history, be familiar with everything that’s ever been written about your patient’s illness (start with Gross, RE: Surgery of Infancy & Childhood, 1953), and above all, do everything the nurses tell you to do.

Some residents thrived on the supervision and felt they were being taught something; others preferred the ‘one of salt and two of water’ on the adult services, and felt they were being watched. They were.

As time passed the fledgling service matured. An adjoining unused ward became home to the world’s first pediatric trauma service. It’s 30 beds, always full, attracted referrals from all the other Brooklyn hospitals. (Brooklyn, with 3,000,000 people, would have stood alone as one of the nation’s largest cities were it not part of New York City). One 6-bed room was converted to the city’s first pediatric burn unit (Tom Boles: “burns are the universal critical care model”). The theme, unusual in its

time, was that care for injured children was the responsibility of pediatric surgeons. Somehow he got an operating room built and staffed on the same floor. Next came rearrangement of space and opening of the first non-cardiac pediatric surgery ICU, starting with 4 beds and soon expanding to 8. By this time Peter had mastered the essence of progress: do whatever you want until someone tells you to stop.

Don Klotz joined Peter as an attending (Dr. Dennis: “go give Peter a hand”), and by the late 1960s the service had grown to over 100 beds. In 1969 Bill Brennom and I received Dr. Dennis’ approval to spend the entire fourth year of our five-year surgical residency as chief residents in pediatric surgery. Bill went on to formal training with Dr. Alexander Bill in Seattle, and I went to Columbus with Drs. Clatworthy and Boles. The Brooklyn fellowship training program was approved in 1975, completing the miracle on Clarkson Avenue. Peter had created a complete children’s hospital within a general hospital.

Peter was one of the 17 founding members of APSA in 1969. He was responsible for many clinical advances including the levator release operation for fecal incontinence, primary anorectal anastomosis for the Soave procedure (with Scott Boley), early decision for gender assignment in cases of ambiguous genitalia, splenic autotransplantation as a complement to splenectomy, and others. An unheralded accomplishment was the birth of a functioning community-academic partnership, welcoming three solo private practice pediatric surgeons (Drs. Boley, Cohn, Mestel) to active participation in rounds and operating with the residents, and providing a destination for their difficult cases.

Peter was a sight to behold (Fig. 1). With silver white hair, dashing good looks, the energy of self-confidence, and the bright red Mercedes cabriolet convertible in the faculty parking lot, his presence was palpable. His accent and demeanor lent itself to caricature; one resident in particular mastered an impression of the ‘sour Kraut’ which played to receptive audiences until the day Peter slipped in the back door and caught the last act (he told me he thought it was pretty funny, but to keep that between us). His teaching method and professional persona mirrored Gross and Clatworthy – the velvet fist in the chain mail glove. He cared deeply about every one of the thousands of children who came his way, and although he managed to conceal it, just as deeply about medical students and residents. He believed that discipline and order was the best way to guarantee superior care and the best learning experience. When he retired in 1991 his successor got a phone call from the Grand Rebbe (rabbi) who over the years had sent patients from all over the world, and was told, “You are following a giant who was a gift and a blessing to all of us. You should only do half as well”.  Rabbis know blessings; the German background had apparently dropped out of the equation.

Peter and Pat had four children who shared a cultured childhood. He built his own harpsichord which became the dominant instrument in the family quartets and musicales, although Pat says that Peter played with more passion than talent. Peter, Pat and each of their children were multi-instrumentalists. Oldest son Stephen is the chief of orthopedic trauma at SUNY-Stony Brook, Gregory was a lawyer, Peter became an artisanal carpenter/contractor, and Andréa is a CRNA.

Peter retired in 1991 when an uncorrectable central hearing loss made hospital functioning difficult. Their first move was to rural upstate New York where he took up a new career as a licensed wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator. When his daughter started what has become a family compound in Rutledge, Tennessee they moved there to be with her and her children. He continued to shelter injured animals and started new interests in stained glass art and woodworking, and devoted himself to single-handedly annihilating a woodlot. Not bad for a 90-year-old. He enjoyed remarkably good health (Fig. 2) until earlier this, his 95th year, when he became short of breath after an active day in the garden. Within a week the symptoms advanced rapidly to oxygen dependence and to death three weeks later. Pat says the years in rural New York and Tennessee were their best years; sometimes it takes retirement for the real person to emerge.

Peter Kottmeier taught me by example what a pediatric surgeon ought to be. He inspired me (and many others) to model my career on his, because after watching him it was unimaginable to be anything other than a pediatric surgeon. I loved and admired the man and appreciate everything he taught me, especially the difference between what really mattered and what was window-dressing. Everyone needs a Peter Kottmeier in their life. Our surgical teachers are always on call; their lessons and example live forever, helping generations they’ll never meet. Remember this golden chain of which we are only the latest link.

I find myself still listening, hoping just once more to hear my old boss telling me the right way to do something.  I feel sorry for anyone who didn’t know Peter Kottmeier because they missed a giant. Standing on the shoulders of giants makes the view remarkably clear.

—   Burt Harris

This remembrance includes many first-person recollections generously provided by the

Kottmeier family and incorporated with their consent, and an invaluable 2020 letter from

Peter to an aunt describing life in Germany in his own words. This remembrance is a

thank-you to the Kottmeier family for sharing their husband and father with us, then and now.

The assistance of Drs. Francisca Velcek and Charles Coren is gratefully acknowledged.

Dr. Robert Peter Foglia, devoted husband of Nancy, and beloved father of Robb, Liz, Matt, Steve, Andrew, and Michael, passed away on December 10. His final months, surrounded by loved ones and receiving calls from around the country, testified to his profound impact as a family member, a caring friend, and as a surgeon who dedicated his life to children’s medicine.

Bob was the only child to Pete Foglia and Elda DaCorte and grew up in Flushing, New York. It hardly seems possible Bob could have imagined the households he would later occupy, filled with so many kids, grandkids, and spoiled pets. But being part of a big family was the delight of his life. Bob helped to raise six children, who are now doctors, artists, whiskey distillers, and lawyers. In later years, he also became Grandpa Bob, joyfully watching the growth of Gwen, Joe, Tessa, Cole, and Paige and speeding their tooth decay through illicit sweets. Perhaps the greatest blessing of the last phase of his life was the chance to meet his newest grandchild, Kit, who was born only in August.

Bob met Nancy in 1982 in Washington, D.C. where he was completing his fellowship and she worked as a pediatric oncology nurse. They married in 1984 and remained together through the birth of triplets, through moves across the country, and even through Bob’s own retirement when he pivoted to a lifestyle heavy in pizza-making and landscape photography. Together they made homes in North Carolina and Wyoming where all felt Bob’s warmth as a host, quick with plates of bleu cheese and slow with the telling of well-known stories.

Making connections through medicine was a major theme of Bob’s life. Many of his dearest friends were colleagues at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he served as Chief of Surgery. His commitment to children touched more lives than can be easily counted. Each Christmas his house was inundated with cards sent by the families of children Bob treated. Even from his own hospital room this fall, Bob continued to call parents who had consulted him, checking on the progress of their children.

He will be remembered for his broad smile, his bad jokes, his curiosity, and his generosity. He will be equally missed for the same.

Donations in Bob’s memory may be made to Children’s National Hospital Foundation (https://www.childrensnational.org).

Dr. John N. Schullinger, 94, died on November 13, 2023 at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center of natural causes.

He was born June 26, 1929 in New York City, the son of Rudolph N. and Audrey B. Schullinger of New York City and Woodstock, Vermont. He was a graduate of Princeton University (1951) and The College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University (1955).  In 1962 he married Nancy Kyle Kiener of Chester, Virginia. His post-graduate training in general surgery was at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City from 1955-1963, interrupted by 2 ½ years as ship’s surgeon in the Arctic and Antarctic with the U.S. Navy.  He completed the pediatric surgery fellowship in 1964 under the guidance of Thomas Santulli, MD and joined the full-time staff of the affiliated Babies Hospital (now the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City). His primary interests were the surgical problems of infants and children, especially those with cancer, and for 35 years he was the editor of the International Abstracts of Pediatric Surgery in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Dr Schullinger was part of a golden era at the Babies Hospital and was the busiest surgeon in NYC for decades.  His impact on families, trainees and associates left an indelible mark. 

Thomas Martin Holder, M.D., pediatric surgeon, teacher, academic researcher and author, died in Aiken, SC, on November 6, 2023, at age 97, after a productive and satisfying life.  He was a man of integrity and tenacity, loyal to his family and committed to professional excellence.  He performed general and heart surgery for thousands of infants and children in Kansas City over a period of decades.

Tom was born September 1, 1926, in Corinth, Mississippi, to S.S. Holder and Ethel Martin Holder.  He enlisted in the US Navy at age 17 in World War II, and served as an electrician’s mate on a ship maintaining the anti-submarine nets in San Francisco Bay.  He attended Ole Miss and graduated from Wake Forest Medical School, in North Carolina.  That is where he met Kathryn Robinson, a vivacious and insightful teacher, whom he subsequently married.  Tom did seven years of specialty residencies in general surgery, thoracic surgery, and pediatric surgery in Philadelphia with Dr. John Gibbon and in Boston with Dr. Robert Gross, titans of thoracic and pediatric surgery.  Dr. Holder was the chief surgical resident at the Boston Children’s Hospital, and a teaching fellow at Harvard University.

Dr. Holder moved to Kansas City in 1960 as the first Surgeon in Chief at Children’s Mercy Hospital and dedicated his career to patient care and developing a top-notch, accredited residency training program in pediatric surgery, teaching medical students and residents, authoring 133 scholarly articles and book chapters and several books, including “Pediatric Surgery,” by Thomas M. Holder and Keith W. Ashcraft.  He was a leader in professional service, winning the 1997 Ladd Medal from the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, winning the medical students’ Jayhawker Teaching Award for the professor “who has shown the greatest devotion to his primary duty as a teacher,” serving as president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association and winning its Distinguished Service Award, chairing the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and notable others.  When Children’s Mercy Hospital withdrew its affiliation from the University of Kansas in order to become part of the formation of UMKC, he changed his academic affiliation to the University of Kansas.  After ten years at KU, he established a private practice and returned to Children’s Mercy Hospital as Chief of the Section of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.  He loved being a pediatric surgeon, channeling his drive and skill to help heal young people who could go on to enjoy rewarding decades of life.

View Obituary

Dr. Luck was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1942. By age 24, she finished medical school at the University of Colorado at Denver. After an internship in Bowling Green and residencies at Kentucky and Albuquerque, she completed a general surgery residency in Baltimore. She then completed fellowships in pediatric surgery at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago and Cardiothoracic Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center. After finishing her training in 1975, she joined the faculty at Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she remained for the entirety of her 35-year career until retirement in 2010.

She was a true pioneer, a trailblazer for women in surgery. She was one of only four women in her medical class and completed general surgery residency at a time when there were extremely few female peers, let alone mentors. She then went on to be the first female fellow in pediatric surgery at CMH, one of the first ten female pediatric surgeons in the entire country, and the first female to achieve the rank of full professor in surgery at Northwestern University.

She is survived by her beloved sisters Patricia Wagner and Judy Luck, her nephew David (Alexx), her grandniece Emily, stepchildren Carolyn (Fred), Jeanne (Holly), William (Jeannie), John (Marilyn), and James (Janet), and pets Daisy the dog and Gracie the cat.

ANTHONY SHAW OBITUARY
October 31, 1929 – February 8, 2023 Anthony Shaw, MD, pioneering pediatric surgeon, eminent medical ethicist and leading clinical diagnostician of child abuse died at his home in Pasadena, CA, in the early hours of February 8th at age 93. A graduate of Bronx High School of Science and Harvard College, Dr. Shaw earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1954 and went on to train at New York’s Babies Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was among the first cohort of medical residents to cultivate the distinct skills required to correct fatal congenital abnormalities in newborn infants and to qualify as dedicated pediatric surgeons. Dr. Shaw’s care for children went beyond the operating theater to those who presented with injuries inflicted by parents or caretakers. Dr. Shaw was early to adopt clinical criteria distinguishing between child abuse and accidental injury or self-harm. As he became aware of the magnitude of the need, Dr. Shaw collaborated with social workers, judges and most notably his wife Iris Azian Shaw, a family court lawyer, to draft mandatory reporting laws, many of which have been adopted nationwide, requiring all who work with children to report suspected cases of child abuse to law enforcement authorities. Throughout his professional life and well past his retirement from surgery, Dr. Shaw served as an expert witness, trusted by defense and prosecution alike to provide dispassionate professional testimony in challenging cases of suspected abuse. Keenly aware of the ethical quandaries doctors frequently confront, Dr. Shaw was a prolific contributor to professional journals on the subject of medical ethics. He served on the National Bioethics Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics as a Fellow of the Academy, and as Founder-Member of the American Pediatric Surgical society, Dr. Shaw chaired its ethics committee from 1980-1988. Dr. Shaw also served on and chaired the Medical Ethics Committee at the University of California, Los Angeles, from 1984 to 1989. In each of these positions he championed compassion, and was much sought as a speaker, appearing on CBS’s 60 Minutes and before the United States Congress to discuss the ethical consequences of controversial medical interventions. An ardent proponent of universal health care for children, Dr. Shaw, as Professor of Surgery first at the University of Virginia and then at UCLA, inspired generations of medical students and surgery residents with his commitment to children and families least able to afford health care. Having treated hundreds of child victims of trauma, Dr, Shaw became a strong advocate for child safety programs. His legacy of service includes 2.5 years as Captain in the United States Army and a volunteer surgeon abord the USS Hope in what was then called Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He balanced the serious nature of his work by expressing his unique brand of medical humor via scores of popular articles he wrote for Medical Economics. His professional dedication was exemplified by the fact that he continued working at UCLA/Olive View Hospital for years after his employment contract had ended, even though he was doing the same job as when he was being paid. He stopped working only after sustaining an accidental head injury at age 86. Anthony Shaw was born Anthony Hyman Schwartz in Shanghai, China in 1929 to journalist Bruno Schwartz and Regina Hyman Schwartz. Although Dr. Shaw devoted his professional life to the care of other people’s children, he was fully dedicated to his own and to his grandchildren, all of whom deeply mourn his passing. His lifelong passion for photography and the joy he took in chronicling his family throughout the decades, provides an archive rich with images of a joyful, purposeful life. Dr. Shaw’s wife Iris Azian predeceased him; he is survived by his sister Judith Hyman of West Palm Beach FL; his three children Brian Anthony Shaw, MD of Colorado Springs, CO (Lisa Flaherty); Diana Shaw Clark (Simon), London UK; and Daniel Aram Shaw (Isa Catto), Woody Creek, CO; eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Dr. Shaw’s close friendships and goodwill were reciprocated by too many people to recognize here, but the Shaw Family would like to thank Dr. John Benfield for his singular steadfast friendship and support as Dr. Shaw’s health failed in his later years.

Published by Los Angeles Times on Feb. 22, 2023.

Donald Edward Meier, born August 30, 1946, to Olive and Ed Meier in Memphis,
Tennessee, died peacefully on December 16, 2022, under hospice care in Dallas, Texas with family by his side.

Don’s formative years were spent being a big brother to Amy Lyn, cheering on Memphis State University basketball with his dad at every game since he was nine years old, excelling in academics, and running his Commercial Appeal newspaper route. He graduated from Memphis State University in 1968 and from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1971.

While a young medical student he fell in love with a red-headed nursing school student,
Patsy Myatt. The two realized they had much in common, starting with the desire to give
and serve others. They married on September 29, 1969, and moved to Dallas, Texas in
1972 for Don’s surgery residency at Parkland Hospital. In 1977 Don and Patsy moved
their three children (Lara, Molly, and Ed) to Ft. Meade in Maryland where Don (“Major
Meier”) served as a surgeon in the U.S. Army. After his Army commitment, Don returned to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (UTSW) as a member of the surgical faculty, forging a relationship that benefited him greatly throughout his career.

Fulfilling his desire to provide surgical care and to teach others to provide care, Don and
his family departed for the Baptist Medical Centre in Ogbomoso, Nigeria in 1982.
Nigeria and UTSW were his primary clinical and educational posts until 2003. Don’s
medical practice took him to eleven countries, and his desire to treat each person as he
would want to be treated and to share the good news of God’s love was evident. His life
statement of “give a person a fish, she can eat for a day, teach a person to fish she can
eat for a lifetime, teach another person to teach others to fish and the whole community
can eat for a lifetime,” helped countless young surgeons over the past five decades
become providers and teachers in the field of global surgery.

Always open to a new adventure, Don accepted the challenge of establishing a pediatric
surgical practice on the border in El Paso in 2003. Working as the “Lone Ranger” for
over 2 years, before recruiting his first colleague, he eventually established the Pediatric
surgery division at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso. An
appreciative family established the Meier-Mounsey Endowed Chair for Lifesaving
Pediatric Surgery in 2007. In 2019, the American Pediatric Surgical Association awarded
Don their first ever Humanitarian Award and the American College of Surgeons
awarded Don with their Surgical Humanitarian Award as well.

One of his greatest joys was being Daddy Don or “D5” (Dandy Daddy Doctor Don from
Dallas) to 9 grandchildren: Piney, Abbey, Audrey, Chase, Hailen, Ember, Penelope,
Nolan, and Zainab. Whether it be fishing on Lake Jacksonville or finalizing his March
Madness bracket, he loved being a grandfather and sharing time and adventures with
each of them.

2015 brought an adventure Don had not planned. He was diagnosed with Cerebral
Amyloid Angiopathy with a prognosis of certain dementia and possibly a hemorrhagic
bleed. He decided to retire earlier than planned but continued his volunteer global
surgical education projects. In 2016, just weeks after returning from Cameroon, he
suffered a major cerebral hemorrhage. He relearned to walk, talk, and eat with a
steadfast will to live life to the fullest.

As part of his rehabilitation therapy, he began typing his life story with his one good
hand. He published “Living the 6B Life: My Story as a Global Surgeon in Africa and
Beyond” in 2021 just before another severe decline in his health. Don’s desire for
continued medical education will live on by donating his body as part of UTSW’s Willed
Body Program.

Many lives were forever changed due to Don’s fortitude and desire to be a good and
faithful servant. A celebration of Don’s life will be held at a future scheduled date when
hopefully colleagues, friends and family from Don’s multiple paths can convene in
Dallas at his home church, Royal Lane Baptist Church. Save the date notifications will
be sent to his large email contact list.

All proceeds from the sale of “Living the 6B Life: My Story as a Global Surgeon in Africa
and Beyond” on Amazon will be donated to the Pan African Academy of Christian
Surgeons.

Alternatively, direct memorials can be made to:
PAACS, Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons
PO Box 735262
Dallas, TX 75373-5262
Checks payable to PAACS
FEIN: 84-2569391
PAACS is a 501(c)(3) organization

Passed away on Saturday, November 12th, 2022 at the age of 95. Surgeon-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital, Retired and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Emeritus.

Beloved husband of Diann for 37 years. Former husband of Lucille B. Rosenberg, M.D. Preceded in death by sister Ruth and brother Donald. Much loved father of Daniel (Sophia), Anne (Richard) Bucheger, Peter (Kristen), Lynn Glicklich Cohen, and Barry (Katherine Lato) and cherished stepfather of Mark Hagen, Victoria (Ray) Richetta, and Timothy (Sandra) Herzer. Dearest grandfather of 18 and great-grandfather of 8.

Dr. Glicklich joined the U.S. Navy as a corpsman in 1944 and was discharged at the end of WWII. He was then accepted to the University of WI Medical school. Dr. Glicklich completed residencies in general surgery at the VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, in pediatric surgery at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and in thoracic surgery at the Chicago State Tuberculosis Sanitorium. He was board certified in all three of these specialties. In the early 1960’s, he did pioneering research in microsurgical techniques now commonly used in major heart, lung, kidney and gastrointestinal procedures. He wrote many articles on the treatment of Wilms’ tumor, pediatric tracheostomy, swallowing disorders and congenital disorders of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Dr. Glicklich began his private practice as a pediatric surgeon and later joined Children’s Hospital of WI. Drs. Roger Cohen and Juda Jona joined Marv as partners; Bruce Kaufman, Linda Sell, and John Aiken also joined Marv in the practice, beginning in 1972. During his years in private practice, Dr. Glicklich and his associates devoted many years of teaching and inspiration to the Medical College of WI training medical students and surgical residents. Pediatric Surgical Associates was dissolved at which time Dr. Glicklich, his partners, and associates joined the Medical College of WI full time. Dr. Glicklich held many positions of leadership at Children’s Hospital of WI culminating in his appointment as the hospital’s first Surgeon-in-Chief. Together with St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee. He donated his time and surgical expertise to children from around the world.

During his twenty-four years of retirement, Diann and Marv traveled the world together, seeing the continents and numerous countries. They were able to spend more time visiting family on the east coast and visiting Marv’s brother, Don, and his family. Marv so loved sailing and spent many peaceful hours on the water also creating wonderful memories by sharing this love with his children and grandchildren.

Memorial service, Sunday, November 27th at 11:00 AM at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Diann and Marvin Glicklich Education Fund at the Medical College of Wisconsin or the Milwaukee Jewish Federation appreciated. A celebration of Marv’s life will be held at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center immediately following the memorial service.

Memorial service
Sunday, November 27th at 11:00 AM

Goodman Bensman Funeral Home
4750 N. Santa Monica Blvd.
Whitefish Bay, WI
View the obituary here.

APSA remembers Albert W. Dibbins II

Albert W. Dibbins II, MD, 89, passed away on October 12, 2022, after several years of declining health. He was home, surrounded by his family.
A renowned pediatric surgeon, Dr. Dibbins was a scholar, teacher, mentor, and healer. Many would say he was the founder of specialized pediatric surgical care in Maine, passionately and tirelessly dedicating his life to the relentless care and advocacy of Maine’s sick children and their families for over 40 years. Although he cared for his patients at Maine Medical Center and the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, his impact and influence on pediatric surgery and the training of the next generation is nationally and internationally recognized.

Born in 1933 in Everett, MA, Al Dibbins, from an early age, knew he wanted to be a doctor. During a speech he gave in 2003 as President of the New England Surgical Society he said, “Being a surgeon has been a great joy to me… I have an overwhelming sense of responsibility for all aspects of my patient’s care and a responsibility defined as my patient’s having first call on me regardless of what it meant to my personal life.”

Dr. Dibbins started his education journey at Phillips Academy Andover (‘51) followed by Princeton University (‘55) and Tufts Medical School (‘59 – first in his class). It was while he attended medical school that he met his loving and devoted wife Betty, and they wed in 1960. His general and pediatric surgical training would take him to the Yale-New Haven Medical Center and Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. His curious mind led him to a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. In 1965, while conducting research at the Walter Reed National Military Hospital, he was deployed to the Vietnam War as an Army general surgeon with the 85th Evac Hospital in the Central Highlands. He was one of the surgeons who received the wounded from the Ia Drang Valley Campaign, one of the bloodiest encounters of the war. These powerful memories of his time in Vietnam stayed with him throughout his life, greatly impacting his skill and care as a surgeon. In 1974, Dr. Dibbins moved to Portland where he joined the medical staff at Maine Medical Center in the Department of Surgery where he would spend the rest of his career.

Dr. Dibbins established the first pediatric surgical practice in Maine, Maine Pediatric Surgical Associates. “Dr. D” was known for his lab coats painted with Winnie-the-Pooh and other characters and for somehow instinctually showing up just in time when a pediatric patient became sick. His personal love of baking brought loaves of Christmas stollen bread to a hungry pediatric hospital staff and he always looked forward to judging the annual pie-making contest.
A passion for teaching and mentorship, he was the General Surgical Residency Program Director at Maine Medical Center for 10 years, where he taught hundreds of medical students and surgical residents, instilling in them a sense of dedication and responsibility to care for the welfare of the children that he had demonstrated throughout his career.

Among his many professional appointments and awards, Dr. Dibbins held faculty appointments at Tufts, University of Pittsburgh and University of Vermont Medical Schools; leadership positions as Director and Senior Examiner of the American Board of Surgery, member of the Pediatric Surgery Advisory Council of the American College of Surgeons, Governor of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, President of the New England Surgical Society, and Founding Member of New England Pediatric Surgical Society. He was the first inductee to the Maine Pediatric Hall of Fame and a two-time nominee of the local Jefferson Award for public service.

After his retirement from surgery in 2000, Dr. Dibbins continued to teach, mentor, and consult with the medical community he loved. He would spend the next 20 years dedicated to his committee work with the adult and pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). 

Dr. Dibbins is survived by his wife, Betty of 62 years, and three daughters, Betsy Crocker and husband David of Portland, Tory Dibbins of Portland and Susan Dibbins and husband Robert Stamerra of Virginia; three grandchildren, Salvatore and Raffaella Stamerra, and Ainsley Shannon Kelly and husband Jeff of California, and great-grandson, Kit Kelly.
As per his wishes there will be no visiting hours or memorial service. A family graveside service was held with military honors. In lieu of flowers, the Dibbins family requests donations to be made to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Memories and condolences can be shared with the family at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com.

A celebration of Al’s professional career will occur at the Maine Medical Center on November 17, 2022.

Perry M.C. Stafford 2022

Dr. Perry Stafford passed away in May 2022. He was a proud Marine Skyhawk A4 pilot, a Captain in the Navy, a highly decorated vet of Vietnam and Desert Storm. He was a skilled and brilliant pediatric surgeon. A patient teacher often recognized by medical students and residents for his mentorship. He was beloved by his nurses, patients and parents. After every surgery, he would craft a personalized bandage based on the child’s interests to let the kiddo and parents know he cared. He was a sailor who grew up on sailboats in the Bahamas. He loved adventuring with a group of friends, island hopping through Caribbean.

Stafford went to college on a singing scholarship, he loved to sing and had a beautiful voice. He was very funny and a master storyteller. He was ambitious, had a sharp wit, loved sports, was passionate about pediatric surgery and the institutions and patients he served.. He will be missed by many friends, but mostly by his two daughters, Bethany and Brittany; his son in law, Tommy; and his three grandchildren, Thomas, Evelyn, and John Jackson.

Read the full obituary here.

John Laurance (Larry) Hill, MD, 86, passed from this life on July 23, 2022 in the Charlestown Senior Community, Catonsville, MD. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Charlotte, daughter Mary Magnus, son David, and three grandchildren. He was predeceased by parents, a sister and son, John Jeffrey.

Larry’s talents as practitioner, teacher and advocate are esteemed by patients, their families, colleagues, trainees, and friends.

Born in Columbus, OH, he attended the Columbus public schools excepting two and a half years in the, then, Columbus Boychoir School. This experience would have a life-long impact and music was very important in his life as performer or listener. On high school graduation, aged 17, he hitch-hiked the Alcan Highway to (the Territory of) Alaska, alone, seeking work to pay for college. He was re-hired four more summers until he received his B.A. degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. Ohio State University Medical School in Columbus followed. Then came an internship and general surgery residency in the same city with first exposure to Pediatric Surgery at Columbus Children’s Hosp. (Dr. William Clatworthy).

Expecting military duty, he enlisted in the Army for service in Vietnam if he would be called as soon as the residency ended. He was Commander of a mobile surgical team, and all can be assured that he gave aid, comfort and a future to many young men caught in that conflict.

Larry left Columbus talking of practice in Alaska. Continued training made that plan impractical. Further training after discharge included: a year in an international transplant lab group in Denver (Dr. Ben Eiseman); combined residencies in Thoracic Surgery (George Washington Univ., Dr. Paul Adkins) and Pediatric Surgery (old Washington Children’s Hosp., Dr. Judson Randolph) and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery (Dr. J. E. McClenathan). He was certified in General, Thoracic and Pediatric Surgery.

On the Pediatric Surgery staff at University of Chicago’s Wyler Children’s Hospital, his transplant interest continued also and, as a Schweppe Research Scholar, for two intervals he did liver transplant work in a lab at University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1977 Larry was recruited to start a Pediatric Surgery section at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore and co-found the first joint Pediatric Surgery training program in the country with Dr. Alex Haller at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. For four years he added management of the general surgery training program. His leadership was crucial for many at a time of upheaval in the hospital. After retirement in 2005, Larry continued to make contributions to the Maryland training program. He took any opportunity whenever, and wherever, he was to be a teacher.

Larry was a member of numerous surgical associations and committees, received awards for teaching and the Salzberg Award for mentoring from the American Academy of Pediatrics, is named Emeritus Professor of Surgery at the University of Maryland and a professorial chair in Pediatric Surgery is being established in his name.

Larry’s parents taught a strong work ethic. From a young age he always had a job of some kind; the variety of these jobs is enterprising and entertaining. He loved the mountains and exploring them, was proud to have summited nine of Colorado’s many 14,000+ feet peaks. Work and other travels took him for extended time to six of the seven continents. He taught his family the pleasures of the outdoors and primitive camping, devised a cherished family vacation plan and a summer program for urban youth in the mountains in memory of his absent son. Many will recall his enthusiasm for sports. His unique perspectives and guidance are treasured by his family as well as those with whom he worked.

Read the obituary here https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/baltimoresun/name/john-hill-obituary?id=35994372

John G. Raffensperger, surgeon, author and sailor, died May 9th in Ft. Myers Florida.

Dr. Raffensperger was born in Joliet Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and later the University of Illinois College of Medicine, receiving his M.D. in 1953. In 1954, Dr. Raffensperger interned at the Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He served for two years as a medical officer on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in Japan and did his first appendectomy at sea.

In 1960, after his service in the Navy, he did a surgical residency at Cook County Hospital, training in general, thoracic and pediatric surgery. In 1963, he had a fellowship in cardiac surgery at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital and Hines Veterans Administration Hospital. He was board certified in general, cardiothoracic, and pediatric surgery.

In 1970, he became Director of Pediatric Surgery at the Children’s Memorial Hospital (later

named Lurie Children’s Hospital). He went on to become Chief of Pediatric Surgery and Surgeon in Chief at Children’s. He trained 26 pediatric surgeons as Program Director of the Pediatric

Surgery Fellowship Program at Children’s Memorial Hospital and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He was a Professor of Surgery and later Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Northwestern.

He was a founding member of the American Pediatrics Surgical Association. He did volunteer surgical work in Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti, San Lucia, and Cuba.

John wrote over 200 publications, including medical articles, book chapters, textbooks, essays, historical works, book reviews, letters to editors, and fiction. His scientific papers have over a thousand citations.

He enjoyed sailing and sailed across the Atlantic and back. He built his last sailboat at the age of 90. He continued his childhood past-times of hunting and fishing up to the end. He was curious about everything and built a sundial accurate to the minute. He could navigate by the stars. He was an environmental activist because of his great love for the ocean, the prairie and woods but also because he saw how environmental damage caused public health problems that he later had to repair as a pediatric surgeon.

He is survived by his wife Dr. Susan Luck, children Carolyn Raffensperger (Fred), Jean Clark (Holly), William Raffensperger (Jean), John Raffensperger (Marilyn), James Raffensperger (Janet), eleven grandchildren and former wife Rev. Carolyn Raffensperger.

APSA Remembers W Hardy Hendren MD

It is with a heavy heart that our colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital informed us that Dr. W. Hardy Hendren passed away on the morning of March 1, 2022, surrounded by his dear wife Eleanor and family. As Boston Children’s Emeritus Chief of Surgery and Robert E. Gross Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Hendren’s impact on the surgical care of children cannot be overstated. Proudly trained by Edward Churchill at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Robert Gross at Boston Children’s, he led Pediatric Surgery at the MGH from 1960-1982 and then returned to lead the Department of Surgery at Children’s as Chief of Surgery from 1982 to 1998. Dr. Hendren served as our 13th APSA President from 1981-1983.

Dr. Hendren’s care for thousands of infants and children was amplified by the dozens of pediatric surgeons he trained, many of whom went on to themselves become leaders in pediatric surgery and urology. He inculcated in those fortunate enough to be trained by him, an appreciation for perfection fueled by seemingly interminable energy and focus. There are many fond memories such as revising a final anastomosis at 2 AM and then going to the pancake house at 4 AM, leaving just enough time for a brief nap before starting a full day clinic. Dr. Hendren travelled widely, operating around the world, demonstrating his innovative pioneering techniques. His operating room and clinic at Boston Children’s were always graced with international visitors who brought his teaching to their countries.

In recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments, Dr. Hendren was decorated with many honors including the William E. Ladd Medal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Valentine Medal of the New York Academy of Medicine, the Denis Browne Medal of the British Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the Urology Medal of the Urologic Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Bigelow Medal of the Boston Surgical Society, the Arnold M. Salzberg Mentorship Award of the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Distinguished Service Award by the American Pediatric Surgical Association. In 2008, the W. Hardy Hendren Professorship in Surgery was endowed at Harvard Medical School in his honor.

Dr. Hendren’s legacy will be perpetuated by the generations of surgeons worldwide who emulate his commitment and dedication to the surgical care of children, impacting them for a lifetime.

Services will be private for the family. Details regarding a later larger memorial will follow.

It is with sadness and deep reverence that I share with you the passing of a pediatric surgical icon, Dr. John (Jack) Campbell. Dr. Campbell was Oregon’s first pediatric surgeon and a trailblazer in advanced pediatric healthcare. He served as Interim Chair of the Department of Surgery from 1985-1986 and was President of the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Practice Plan. Of national significance, Dr. Campbell was 1 of 18 founding members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association.

Dr. Campbell was recruited to the OHSU Department of Surgery by Mackenzie Professor and Chair Dr. William Krippaehne in 1967. During his esteemed career, Dr. Campbell played a significant role in establishing Doernbecher as the premier children’s hospital in Oregon and achieving its nationwide recognition. He worked to establish Oregon’s first neonatal intensive care center in 1968 and he saw the hospital through its transition into a Level 1 trauma center in the 1980’s, which dramatically expanded the scope of patient care, both adult and pediatric. In 1998, Dr. Campbell saw the completion of Doernbecher’s new state-of-the-art medical complex on Marquam Hill to replace the original children’s hospital. He served as Doernbecher’s first Surgeon-in-Chief before retiring from OHSU in 2000.

Dr. Campbell will be remembered for the immense importance he placed on exchanging knowledge and teaching the next generation. His contributions to the field of pediatric surgery were foundational. Our thoughts go out to his family and beloved colleagues as we honor his legacy and mourn his passing.

-Ken

Kenneth S. Azarow M.D., FACS, FAAP

COL (ret) USA
Mackenzie Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, OHSU

View the obituary here

He joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1990 before joining the Department of Surgery at Penn State in 1992 where he rose to the rank of tenured Professor.

His impact on Penn State Children’s Hospital has spanned the institution.  He has served as both the Medical Director of the Pediatric Trauma program and led the Division of Pediatric Surgery as Chief for over twenty years. He was appointed the Ballentine Professor of Pediatric Surgery in 2010. Dr. Cilley also served as the Surgeon-in Chief of Penn State’s Children’s Hospital and was appointed the inaugural Chester Ray Trout Endowed Chair of Pediatric Surgery in 2019. Most recently, he led the Children’s Hospital to being established at one of the first American College of Surgeon’s Verified Level 1 Children’s Surgery Centers and led us through the reverification seamlessly in Sept 2021.

Dr. Cilley has authored over 92 articles and 39 book chapters with focused efforts on lung injury, lung hypoplasia and fetal lung development.  His research and leadership commitments are only part of the impact and influence that Dr. Cilley has made in Pediatric Surgery and the Penn State Children’s Hospital and Community.  He served tirelessly for over 30 years at the same institution and touched the lives of children and their families in a way that cannot be expressed.  His compassion and love of children was clear in his clinical management and in the influence he had on the surgical residents he trained.

Dr. Cilley had a deep and abiding faith that sustained him throughout his life. He was a surgeon’s surgeon, an unequaled mentor, and an example for all of us.

He is survived by his wife, Diane, of 40 years; his children, Elizabeth (Luke) and RJ (Marissa); and the light of his life, his granddaughter, Sophia Grace.

Robert Cilley Obituary (2022) – Hershey, PA – Patriot-News (pennlive.com)

His last message to our division embodied his mission and impact he has had on our group:

“…Continue to execute our mission of serving those who need us. Fight the good fight as you have for years….”

In Memoriam
Dr. Jerrold M. Becker

We are saddened to learn of the recent death of Dr. Jerrold Becker, a longtime member of APSA. Dr. Becker passed away in Great Neck, New York, on August 1, 2021.
Born in the Bronx and graduated from James Monroe High School, Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine at 22 years old. He progressed to internship and surgical residency at Bellevue Hospital where he received the Surgical Medal in his third year. His training continued with surgical residencies at Montefiore Hospital, NYC, Children’s Medical Center, Boston and Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia where he was Chief Surgical Resident.
Following service in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Jerry became an attending in charge of pediatric surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital and began his affiliation with Long Island Jewish Hospital. A respected educator, he was a Clinical Professor of Surgery at NYU College of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Additionally, he served as Visiting Professor of Surgery in Jerusalem, Jaipur, Cairo, Beijing, Nairobi, Athens and Guatemala City.
APSA joins Dr. Becker’s many friends and colleagues in offering condolences to his family. The full obituary can be viewed here

Eric Jelin, adored father, son, brother and husband, and renowned surgeon, died Thursday, May 13 in Baltimore. He was 42. A native of New York City, Jelin attended Harvard College, Harvard Medical School and Camp Robin Hood. He met Angie Child Jelin, the love of his life, in medical school and the pair married while doing their residency at UC San Francisco. His life bloomed exponentially when he became a father to Max, 11, and Kyra, 10.

As director of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Fetal Program, Eric led the trailblazing Renal Anhydramnios Fetal Therapy (RAFT) study with a prestigious R01 grant. A masterful surgeon, Eric’s research and operating skills were matched only by his profound human connection to his patients and their families.

Eric lived his life with a radiant intensity, operating at full velocity in all he did. He was ferociously devoted to the people he loved and brought that relentless energy into his medical practice, where he pioneered techniques to save lives for conditions many other doctors deemed lethal. He was awarded the Judith Folkman Prize from the American Pediatric Surgery Association.

He is predeceased by sister Sandra Jelin Plouffe and survived by his parents, Bram and Margie, brother Ben (Shannon), cherished wife Angie, fantastic children Max and Kyra, nieces, nephews, countless cousins, friends and grateful patients.

If you’d like to make a gift in Dr. Eric Jelin’s honor, a memorial fund is being established in his name at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Donations can be made here and the fund will support the programs and initiatives closest to Eric’s heart: https://makeagift.jhu.edu/form/Jelin

Published in New York Times from May 19 to May 20, 2021.

We are saddened to learn of the recent death of Dr. Subramania “Jay” Jegathesan, a longtime member of APSA.  Dr. Jegathesan passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on January 19, 2021.

Dr. Jay served for many years as a pediatric surgeon at the three major Tulsa hospitals. He received his medical training from Stanley Medical College in Chennai. After graduating, Dr. Jay came to Chicago to do a fellowship where met his future wife, Roberta (“Bobbie”), who worked as a nurse. After starting his private practice career in San Antonio, Dr. Jay and Bobbie moved to Tulsa in the mid-1970s, where he built a reputation as a capable surgeon, helping countless children.

A private funeral service will be held by the family. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be sent to the Tulsa Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation.
APSA joins Jay’s many friends and colleagues in offering condolences to his family. The full obituary can be viewed here.

Carpenter ascended the academic ladder from lecturer in surgery in 1965 to succeed Annamunthodo as department head in October 1978 and the chair in clinical surgery in April 1980. This ascent was mirrored by his deepening involvement in the day-to-day surgical care of a wide cross section of Jamaica’s children.

In addition to his UHWI responsibilities Carpenter provided clinical and emergency coverage at BHC from 1965-1974. In April 1967 he was appointed honorary consultant at the BHC. He served as sole surgeon from June 1969 to February 1970 when Resident Surgeon Dr. Earl Wright migrated and later was instrumental in arranging a fellowship to Pittsburgh for William Dennis, the first Jamaican to be appointed chief of surgery at BHC.

Postgraduate training in surgery commenced at The UWI in 1972 and Carpenter became coordinator of all surgical training programs in 1974 and subsequently chairman from 1978-1989. He believed that surgeons succeeding him should be better trained than he was and, along with fellow professors blazed the trail for the international recognition of the Doctor of Medicine in Surgery degree. This led ultimately to The UWI campuses taking over responsibility from the United Kingdom for the training of Caribbean surgeons, resulting in training surgeons in all specialties and, subsequently, in them now occupying most senior surgery posts in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean. Carpenter stated that Department of Surgery posed peculiar challenges, particularly when much of the academic staff either resigned or migrated to other locations in the 1970’s. He would state wryly that he and a few others were “left to turn the lights out in the Department of Surgery” but refused.

Carpenter particularly cherished fruitful outcomes of mentorship, including The UWI’s approval of a specialist degree in his own specialty, the Doctor of Medicine in Pediatric Surgery degree — DM (Paed Surg) — in 1998. He served on its first panel of examiners in December 2001. Carpenter witnessed The UWI’s graduates in pediatric surgery head specialist units in Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana.

Carpenter was also a source of wisdom and compassionate emotional support to all levels of staff in the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anesthesia, and Intensive Care up to and beyond his 90th birthday on January 25, 2020.

Drs. Jean-Martin Laberge and Sherif Emil. The Montreal Gazette

Dr. Frank Guttman died August 26, 2020. He was a pioneer in pediatric surgery and founding member of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons.

Read the memorial written by Drs. Jean-Martin Laberge and Sherif Emil.

He studied at McGill University (B.Sc. Honours Physiology 1952) and obtained his medical degree from the University of Geneva, Switzerland in 1957. Upon his return to Montreal, he trained at the Jewish General Hospital and the Sainte-Justine Hospital. In 1981 he became head of Paediatric General Surgery at The MCH and a Professor at the McGill Faculty of Medicine. He authored eleven chapters in medical textbooks and 105 papers in peer-reviewed medical journals. Learn more about his accomplishments from his obituary in the Montreal Gazette.

from Saving Lifetimes

We sadly share the news that Dr. Dick Ellis died July 12, 2020, at the age of 92.

A Founding Member of APSA and President from 1992-1993, Dr. Ellis was “a staunch defender of the physician-patient relationship,” and a positive impact on our profession and his many patients and their families.

We send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

(from Saving Lifetimes)

Dick Gibbs Ellis was just five when Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker visited his North Texas hometown of Wellington during their famous depression era crime spree. Unaffected by their criminal notoriety, he excelled in public school then took both his baccalaureate and his medical degree from Baylor University. He interned at the St. Louis City Hospital, followed by two years in the U.S. Air Force before returning to St. Louis to complete his surgical training.

He trained with Clatworthy in Columbus then returned to Fort Worth where he began practice at both the Fort Worth Children’s Hospital and the Cook Children’s Hospital as the first full-time surgical specialist in both facilities. As president of the medical staff and chief of surgery at both hospitals he led a 30-year effort to merge the two institutions into a single entity, today’s Cook Children’s Medical Center, one of the country’s largest children’s inpatient hospital systems.

He [was] a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Active in pediatric surgical societies, he served as chair of the Surgical Section (1988-1989) and president of APSA (1992-1993). Not confined to the U.S., he had honorary memberships of the pediatric surgical societies of both Poland and Turkey.

Ellis [was] known as a staunch defender of the physician-patient relationship and an opponent of the malign influence of the medical malpractice environment, administrative bureaucracy, and popular culture on the practice of medicine, the message of his presidential address to APSA in 1993. “We must lift the field to a ‘calling’” he said, “and inspire our graduates to a deeply held and passionate commitment to serving people.”

Dick and Kay Ellis [were] married for more than 60 years. They have traveled to more than 100 countries and all the continents. Their three children have doctorate degrees in dentistry, medicine, and law.

The funeral service will be private. Donations can be made to Cooks Children Hospital, Forth Worth TX.

Learn more about his life and his accomplishments in his obituary.

from Saving Lifetimes

Pediatric surgery has lost another stalwart champion of our profession. Dr. Robert Filler died July 2, 2020, at the age of 89.

Dr. Filler was a Founding Member of APSA and served as President 1990-1991. He, along with Lawrence Pickett and Thomas Holder, are credited with convincing Robert E. Gross to be APSA’s first president.

(from Saving Lifetimes)

Dr. Filler, a native of Brooklyn, NY, received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1952. He graduated cum laude in 1956 from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and moved to Boston, completing his general surgery residency at the Brigham and his pediatric surgery fellowship under Dr. Gross at Boston Children’s Hospital. He distinguished himself as an outstanding Harvard Medical School faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital and then moved to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. There he served an unprecedented 18-year term as the surgeon-in-chief, mentoring a generation of pediatric surgeons. He then served as Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, Emeritus at the University of Toronto. The Hospital for Sick Children has endowed the Chair in Pediatric Surgery in his name.

A leader in academic and clinical pediatric surgery, Filler was elected president of APSA in 1990. He also served for six years as governor of the American College of Surgeons. A consummate clinical surgeon, he was noted for surgery for conjoined twins and tracheal reconstruction. His curriculum vitae lists more than 170 peer-reviewed articles and 80 book chapters. His pro bono aortopexy in 1979 in Toronto on a baby flown up from Brooklyn led to the founding of the eponymous Herbie Fund, which has raised over $20 million to date and which over the decades has supported specialized medical care for almost a thousand children from over 100 countries.

Filler was an early adopter of emerging technology, initiating a telemedicine program at Sick Kids in 1995. He was a founding member of the Canadian Society of Telehealth, serving as President from 2000 to 2002 and as Chairman of the Board of the 600-site Ontario Telemedicine Network from 2006- 2009. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal by the U.S. Army for his treatment of Vietnamese children during his surgical tour of duty during the Vietnam War.

We send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to The Robert M. Filler chair in Pediatric surgery c/o Sick Kids Foundation, 416-813-5320, or a charity of choice. A tribute to Dr. Filler’s life will be held at a later date.

Learn more about his life and his accomplishments in his obituary and on this website.

(from his obituary posted on Legacy.com)

Howard M. Snyder, III, died June 4, 2020, at the age of 76. He was a well-known pediatric urologist and pediatric surgeon who practiced at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for 35 years, retiring in 2015. He graduated from St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE, Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, with postgraduate training in Boston and in England. Dr. Snyder also served for more than 20 years in the Active Reserves, U.S. Army Medical Corps, and was deployed to Active Duty in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He retired as Colonel in 2004. Read his full obituary.

(from Dr. Daniel von Allmen and Saving Lifetimes)

Dr. Martin trained in surgery at Cornell and pediatric surgery with Robert E. Gross in Boston. He was instrumental in building the pediatric surgery department at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where he was chief of surgery for 32 years.

He made many innovative contributions to the field including the eponymous Lester Martin Pull Through Method, which eliminated the need for a child to use an ostomy bag. He also performed the first successful kidney transplant in Ohio, in June, 1965. His ten years of clinical work was published in an landmark article in the Annals of Surgery in 1977. Dr. Martin was a master technician and started one of the early pediatric surgery fellowship training programs.

Learn more about his accomplishments in his obituary and in an interview with John Vester in 1990 for the University of Cincinnati Libraries.

View Dr. Martin on the Pediatric Surgery Tree.

Dr. Beverly Ellen Chaignaud died January 3, 2020. Dr. Chaignaud was a beloved member of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s of Alabama Hospital.

Dr. Chaignaud started her professional career as an artist and a teacher for 13 years after graduating from Loyola University. She went back to Tulane University and subsequently matriculated to Tulane University Medical School. She spent time training in Mississippi, Kansas City, and Boston. She started her pediatric surgery career at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans and came to Birmingham in 2006.

Dr. Chaignaud devoted her life to caring for children with burn injuries and was named the Medical Director of the Burn Unit at Children’s of Alabama Hospital in 2008. Dr. Chaignaud served humbly and with kindness and empathy that is unparalleled. She never took for granted the privilege of being a pediatric surgeon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a camp for burn injured children.

from Dr. Burton Harris

Dr. Boley was a Charter Member of APSA.

Scott Boley, the grand old man of New York pediatric surgery, died peacefully after a brief illness due to complications of liver failure on January 6, 2020 at the age of 92. Sandra, his devoted wife of 70 years, was at his bedside.

Scott was born in Brooklyn, the son of an obstetrician. He recalled as a youngster accompanying his father on house calls in the doctor’s Buick. Scott attended prep school (“Brooklyn Poly”), was graduated cum laude from Wesleyan College in 1946, and received the Doctor of Medicine degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1949. Following internship he served in the U.S. Air Force and then returned to a surgical residency at the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn, within walking distance of his boyhood home. He completed training in 1956 and joined the attending staff as a general surgeon.

As a young, soft-spoken (in those days) and available surgeon he was attractive to pediatricians, and their young patients became a significant part of his practice. One day a pediatrician referred a child with portal hypertension who needed a shunt, but Scott had to mention that the portacaval shunt done in those days carried a serious mortality risk for children. The pediatrician called Dr. Clatworthy at Columbus Children’s Hospital for another opinion. Dr. Clatworthy told the pediatrician about the new, safer mesocaval (“Clatworthy”) shunt, and also told him that one of Dr. Clatworthy’s trainees, Peter Kottmeier, was at the State University in Brooklyn. Taking that child to Kings County Hospital was how Scott met Peter, and they became lifelong friends and colleagues. For many years Scott was an integral part of the pediatric surgical service, attending weekly Grand Rounds and scrubbing with the residents, and “making Peter look good”.

Scott became known for many medical and surgical innovations, but his first was the modification of the Soave endorectal pullthrough for Hirschsprung’s disease. Franco Soave’s original procedure left the pulled-through segment of ganglionic bowel extending out past the anus, to be trimmed back in a second operation weeks later. Scott reasoned that a primary anastomosis was more feasible, and after long discussions with Kottmeier and the other attending surgeons, tried this for the first time in 1964. (As a third year medical student I was privileged to see this historic operation from behind a retractor, and decided to become a pediatric surgeon anyway). The operation was completed as planned and the patient had an uneventful recovery. The other local surgeons decided to incorporate this technique in their own practices, and the results were reported as a multi-institutional trial (J Pediatr Surg 3:258-62; April 1968). Years later when Prof. Soave visited Columbus Children’s he told me that he had started to do the primary anastomosis. For many years this operation was referred to as the Soave-Boley procedure, although time has blurred the eponyms.

Now a full-time convert to pediatric surgery, Dr. Boley was recruited to head a new service at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Hospital in 1967. He was in the founders’ group for the new Certificate of Special Competence, taking the initial examination in 1975. He and his colleagues, including long-time partners Sylvain Kleinhaus and Gerard Weinberger, found fertile ground at Einstein and their work evolved into the full-service Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.

Having found his voice, he became known to many APSA members as a popular, uninhibited discussant of controversial papers. There were two people – Scott Boley and Mark Ravitch – whom a young author never wanted to see waiting for the microphone. Scott was probably the more-feared because his discussions were often accompanied by Peanuts cartoons he had painstakingly modified for the occasion, and which he thought were hilarious. The cartoons were a magician’s distraction; he always found the flaw in the author’s logic and had no hesitancy pointing it out.

Scott became professor, emeritus in 2001, but that was just the start of another chapter. He kept his office and secretary, came to the hospital in a starched white shirt every day and became the elder statesman and eminence grisé of the service. He loved to scrub on difficult cases as first assistant with the young attendings and they welcomed his tutelage. He enjoyed the controversies at the weekly M&M, often filling in historical vignettes and explaining ‘how I do it’. He started informal teaching sessions with the medical students which added a dimension to their rotation; where else could they see a century of medicine in one sitting? And he was always willing to offer advice to his colleagues, whether they needed it or not. With a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

Medical school couldn’t have been all work and no play, because Scott and Sunny met on a blind date in Philadelphia, and married after graduation. Their marriage was a 70-year love affair.

His new senior role gave them more time to pursue their other passions – fishing, and wood-turning.
He and Sunny were both world-class fishermen and travelled to Canada, South America, Russia and Australia pursuing the big ones that always got away. When not traveling he was in the wood shop in his basement, creating spectacular, artistic bowls from old-growth burls they had found and brought out of the forests. The Boley bowls were well-known to other wood craftsmen; they were worth thousands, but he never sold one because he didn’t want to skew the market. Scott and Sonny were true partners; they supported each other, did everything together, and were each other’s best friend.

Scott Boley was an American original. There’ll be no replacement. He was brilliant, kind, caring, and the guy you’d want in your foxhole when stuff hit the fan. He had an unprecedented career spanning 70 years and was still teaching at the time of his last illness. Scott Boley had a lasting effect on countless lives and on each institution he graced with his presence, and he leaves a giant legacy. His contributions to pediatric surgery outlive him and he will not soon be forgotten.

Dr. Barry O’Donnell died November 26, 2019 at the age of 93. He was an Honorary APSA Member.

Dr. O’Donnell spent much of his career at the National Children’s Hospital (1965-80) and The Children’s University Hospital (1977-88). He was the first fully trained full time paediatric surgeon to be appointed in Ireland. His achievements included being one of the main instigators of the now well-known Children’s Research Centre. He, along with Prem Puri developed an innovation of endoscopic correction of vesicoureteric reflux in 1984, which was a major contribution to Paediatric Urology. Learn more about his many achievements.

Harry Applebaum, 73, passed on July 31, 2019.  Harry was a true General Pediatric Surgeon. Following completion of medical school at the University of Michigan, Harry completed his surgical residency at Mount Sinai and New York Medical College.  He trained in Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Pediatric Surgery at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

He has served as president of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (2010-2011). He has been an active member of APSA for his entire career. He is the author of over 70 peer reviewed papers. Throughout his career, Harry was known as a calm, personable and outstanding clinical surgeon. He mentored numerous residents who followed in his footsteps to become pediatric surgeons. Harry was dedicated to resident and student training.  He would commonly perform complex, index operations with interns and junior residents while only using nothing but a pair of forceps and a suction device.

Dr. Applebaum spent the bulk of his career and Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles where he singlehandedly developed Pediatric Surgery in one of the largest health care systems.

Dr. Applebaum is survived by his wife, Dr. Linda Feinfeld Applebaum, 2 children Amy (Dr. Daniel) Sapeika and Dr. Mark (Dr. Lynn Yee) Applebaum, and 5 grandchildren (Noah, Ethan, Benjamin, Sylvie, and Eva).

APSA joins Dr. Applebaum’s many friends and colleagues in offering condolences to his family. The full obituary can be viewed here. 

He spent much of his career at the University of Florida, helping to establish the pediatric surgery and trauma programs at UF Health Jacksonville. Among his many positions with the university, Tepas served as chief of the pediatric surgery division and associate dean for clinical informatics for the College of Medicine, Jacksonville.

Tepas earned many accolades and honors throughout his career, including 2009 Philip O. Lichtblau Award, given by the Florida Academy of Pediatrics and Florida Pediatrics Society for his outstanding contributions to the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) program.

(Dr. Don Nakayama, Saving Lifetimes)

Dr. Morton Woolley died December 11, 2019. He was a Charter Member of APSA and served as APSA President 1978-1979.

Woolley served as surgeon-in-chief at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) from 1975-1990. Under his leadership, CHLA developed into an international referral center for all specialties in surgery, and a leading training program in the field. He succeeded William Snyder, founding director of the training program at CHLA, for one year in 1969-1970, then resumed the responsibility five years later when he was named surgeon-in-chief. During his tenure 19 pediatric surgeons trained under him, several of them future leaders in surgery and pediatric surgery, including APSA president Michael Harrison, Richard Andrassy, Thomas Whalen, Kevin Lally, and Walter Chwals.

Born in Atlanta in 1924, young Mort moved with the family to seek a more commodious climate in Denver for his ailing father, only to suffer his death when the boy was only seven. The family moved to Worthington, OH, then on the northern outskirts of Columbus, where he became a star on the high school basketball team. With the country at war, he entered the V7 Program of the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School and flight training. At war’s end he returned home to complete his baccalaureate at nearby Otterbein College in 1946. He entered the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, CA (today’s Loma Linda University School of Medicine), and graduated as class president in 1951. He trained in surgery at the Los Angeles County Hospital, where he met his wife Jane, who was doing her intern year there.

Drawn to children’s surgery, Woolley saw that coverage of pediatric surgery at the county hospital was “a little thin.” He won a position as resident at the Children’s Medical Center in Boston under Robert Gross from 1957-1959, with Jane completing her anesthesiology training at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. They returned to Los Angeles in 1960 where Woolley divided his time between CHLA and the White Memorial Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for Loma Linda located just east of downtown Los Angeles. Initially part of the Loma Linda surgical faculty, Woolley practice gradually shifted over to CHLA and became fulltime when he was named its fulltime surgeon-in-chief and professor of surgery at the University of Southern California. Besides the presidency of APSA, he was active in the major professional societies in pediatric surgery, including serving as president of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons in 1991-1992.

His publications drew on the voluminous clinical caseload at CHLA and his own experience in the field, such as one of the early series of isolated esophageal atresia treated with delayed surgery and esophageal bouginage (1969). In 1977 Woolley authored one of the most profound articles in pediatric surgery: a two-page summary of a questionnaire sent to parents who had the death of a child, published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. He wrote

Without exception, each of us has experienced the death of our own child or observed the response of parents to the death of their child. … You may have wondered how you might help the parents, and, after doing your best, wondered if your actions, or lack thereof, have been truly beneficial, unhelpful, or harmful.

With words that came from wisdom and inherent humanity, Woolley offered straightforward advice to his colleagues, present and future, that bears reading and re-reading, and sharing with the next generation of pediatric surgeons.

References
Wooley MM, Leix F, Johnston PW, et al. Esophageal atresia types A and B: upper pouc elongation and delayed anatomic reconstruction. J Pediatr Surg. 1969;4(1):148-53.
Woolley MM. The death of a child – the parent’s perspective and advice. J Pediatr Surg. 1977;32(1):73-4.

There will be a celebration of life on January 26 at 4:00 at the Loma Linda University Church. In lieu of flowers, Dr. Woolley’s family requests that donations be sent to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation, Morton M. and E. Jane Woolley Endowed Chair for Pediatric Surgery, giving.lluh.org/mortwoolley

View his obituary.

Dr. Enrique Marquez Grau (“Quique” ) died November 26, 2019. He was the first pediatric cardiovascular surgeon in the Island of Puerto Rico and a Charter Member of APSA.

He was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in 1930 and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in 1955. He completed his pediatric surgical training in Canada and returned in 1965 to Puerto Rico with specialty training in general surgery, pediatric surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. He was the only surgeon in the Island who was board certified in all three specialties.

In 1970, he performed the first open heart surgical procedure in a pediatric patient in PR and saved the life of a 15-year-old child who needed a tricuspid valve replacement.

Since then, Dr Marquez became a teacher, mentor and leader in pediatric general and cardiothoracic surgery in the Island. He became the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Center and chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at the Puerto RIco Cardiovascular Center. As Professor of Surgery, he trained dozens of surgeons and inspired many of us to follow his steps as pediatric surgeons.

Dr. Marquez practiced pediatric surgery for 55 years. He is considered the father of Pediatric Surgery in Puerto Rico. In 2002, the renovated operating rooms at the University Pediatric Hospital were named after him. At the time, the governor Sila Calderon called him the “surgeon of the Puerto Rican children”. In March 2019, the University of Puerto Rico Medical Center honored him as a “teacher of teachers of surgery..”

(from his obituary in the Montreal Gazette)

Dr. Jean G. Desjardins died October 6, 2019 at the age of 87. He was one of six Canadians who were Charter Members of APSA. Dr. Desjardins was chief of general surgery at Ste. Justine Hospital in Montreal from 1985 to 1994 and the director of the Pediatric General Surgery Program at the University of Montreal from 1986 to 1993. During his long career, he had a great impact on many children, families and trainees. To learn more about Dr. Desjardins’ accomplishments, read his full obituary.

(from “Saving Lifetimes”

Dr. Keith W. Ashcraft, a luminary in the field of pediatricy surgery and President of APSA from 1996 to 1997, died July 29, 2019.

Dr. Ashcraft received his general surgery training at the University of Kansas Medical Center, followed by two years of pediatric surgery training there with Drs. Thomas Holder and Lucian Leape. Following his pediatric surgery training, he spent a year in London at Great Ormond Street doing additional training in cardiac surgery.

After his year in London he spent a brief period of time in Galveston, but was recruited to return to Kansas City and join Dr. Holder in the private practice of pediatric surgery. For 20 years, Drs. Ashcraft and Holder were the primary clinical surgeons at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. They also partnered as co-authors of the “Pediatric Surgery” textbook. Dr. Ashcraft became Surgeon-in-Chief and Residency Program Training Director in 1993 until his retirement in 1999.
In addition to serving as APSA’s President, Dr. Ashcraft was a Governor (1982-1985) and Secretary (1991-1994) of the Board. He also served as the model for APSA’s original logo.

To learn more about Dr. Ashcraft’s achievements, listen to the Behind the Knife podcast interview that took place at the APSA 50th Anniversary Meeting.

(from his obituary in The Gainesville Sun)

We are saddened by the loss of one of our founding members, Dr. James L. Talbert, who died on July 1 at the age of 87.

In his professional life, Dr. Talbert was a dedicated pediatric surgeon, an ingenious innovator, an active writer and a beloved teacher. In his personal life, he was a husband, father and friend.

In addition to being a founding member of APSA, he was also chief of pediatric surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine beginning in 1967 until he retired in 1998 and was named Professor Emeritus, member of the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors and chairman of the Halsted Society.

Upon receiving his medical degree from Vanderbilt University in 1956, Dr. Talbert was awarded the Founder’s Medal for finishing at the top of his class. Beginning his postgraduate studies, he was the first pediatric surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was also the first pediatric surgeon to be recruited by the University of Florida. In recognition of his contributions to the speciality and impact on his students, he was honored with the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Arnold M. Salzberg Mentorship Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Our sincerest condolences go out to his family, including his wife and two children, his friends and all whose lives he touched.

The University of Florida Department of Surgery will hold a memorial service in remembrance of his life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the James Lewis Talbert Lectureship in Pediatric Surgery or to the Ronald McDonald House of North Central Florida.

To learn more about his life of achievements, read his obituary.

(from his obituary on Tennessean.com)

We are sad to share that APSA Charter Member Dr. George W. Holcomb, Jr. died on June 29 at the age of 97.

Dr. Holcomb was not only a figure in establishing pediatric surgery as a recognized specialty, but he made a difference in the lives of thousands of children he operated on in his 35-year career.

In addition to being a Charter Member, he served on the APSA Board of Governors from 1975-1977 and was on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

Dr. Holcomb was the first pediatric surgeon in Middle Tennessee and the only one for 20 years. He served as president of the Nashville Academy of Medicine, the Tennessee Medical Association, the Nashville Surgical Society, and the Vanderbilt Medical Alumni Association. In honor of his great contributions, the annual Holcomb Lectureship in Pediatric Surgery was established in his honor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1990.

We send our condolences to his family, including his son, Dr. George (Whit) Holcomb III, a fellow pediatric surgeon and editor of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

A memorial service will be conducted at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 8. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be sent to the Vanderbilt Medical Scholarship Fund, West End United Methodist Church or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

To learn more about Dr. Holcomb’s accomplishments and his memorial service, read his full obituary.

(from his obituary on Legacy.com)

APSA member Dr. David Miller died March 10, 2019 Dr. Miller joined the medical staff of Arnold Palmer Hospital in 1993. He faithfully served the children of Central Florida for the next 26 years, where he performed over 12,000 operations, often on the sickest and tiniest of children. During that time he was also an integral part of the academic teaching faculty. David was a mentor, a trusted colleague, and a friend to not only his physician colleague’s but also to the hundreds of residents he trained over the years and to the nursing team who supported his work. He was known for his patience and kind teaching approach, his genuine concern, and for his ability to always find time for anyone who needed it. When Arnold Palmer Hospital opened its pediatric emergency department, Dr. Miller worked with his partners to build a program of trauma care surgical services that is now recognized as one of the best in the country. With the opening of the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, he thrived on the challenge to help create a pediatric surgical service that will benefit the Orlando community for generations to come.

Dr. Miller received a BS degree from Asbury College and earned his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. He finished his general surgery residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, which included a one-year exchange residency at Hope Hospital in Manchester, England. He then completed a two-year fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. A member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, he authored articles which were published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Learn more about his accomplishments.

(from his obituary in the Daily Bulldog)

William L. Donnellan died February 5, 2019 at the age of 93. He served on the staff at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago for many years and authored The Abdominal Surgery of Infancy and Childhood. Donnellan earned his MD at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. and completed residencies in general and children’s surgery at hospitals in Boston, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Chicago and trained with Dr. Orvar Swenson. Learn more about his many accomplishments.

(from his APSA colleagues)

Dr. Dan Ledbetter died February 26, 2019, after having a massive stroke. He was attending a meeting in Bangkok with his wife. He was an attending surgeon in the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. Ledbetter had interests in thyroid, parathyroid and other endocrine surgery; surgical critical care and ECMO; as well as neonatal surgery and general and thoracic surgery of infants and children. A long-time and active member of APSA, Dr. Ledbetter served on several committees, most recently as a member of the close-knit team that comprises the Professional Development Committee. Read more about his accomplishments.

(from his obituary at Iles Funeral Homes)

Dr. Michael Irish died March 6 at the age of 55. He was an attending pediatric surgeon at St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville, Indiana.

Dr. Irish had previously served 15 years as an attending pediatric surgeon at Blank Hospital in Des Moines. He also devoted time to raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and had taken part in several annual medical aid missions to a surgical facility in Barahona, Dominican Republic. Learn more about his accomplishments.

(from his obituary posted in the Arizona Daily Star)

APSA Charter Member Dr. Charles Peter Crowe, Jr., died January 8, 2019, at the age of 89.

Crowe was a well-known and much-admired pediatric surgeon, mentor and instructor in the Tuscon, Ariz. community. We are grateful for his 40+ year career dedicated to the profession and the patients for whom he cared.

Dr. Crowe graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1954 and trained as a flight surgeon at the Naval School of Aviation Medicine. He completed his surgical residency in Boston, MA, and Buffalo, NY, and completed his pediatric surgical training the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

He had an office practice, operated at the Tuscon Medical Center and at the University Medical Center and taught at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tuscon.

Learn more about his accomplishments in his obituary from the Arizona Daily Star.

Donations can be made to Casa De Los Ninos, 1120 N 5th Ave., Tuscon, AZ 87505, or to benefit the Dr. C. Peter Crowe Lectureship in Pediatric Surgery at the University of Arizona.

from an article written by Stony Brook Medicine

APSA Charter Member Cedric J. Priebe, Jr., MD, died January 19 at the age of 88.

He was not only a figure in establishing pediatric surgery as a recognized specialty, but also a surgeon dedicated to improving the lives of his young patients.

Priebe was the founder of the Pediatric Surgery Division at Stony Brook University School of Medicine where he served as professor of surgery and founding chief of pediatric surgery. His legacy also includes the Priebe Lectureship fund and the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

He received his MD in 1955 from Cornell Medical College and served his pediatric surgery fellowship under H. William Clatworthy, Jr., MD, at Ohio State University’s Columbus Children’s Hospital.

Visit the Stony Brook Medicine website for more details on Priebe’s accomplishments.

(from his obituary posted in the Albuquerque Journal on Dec. 23, 2018)

Dr. Patrick F. Jewell M.D., 84, died December 12, 2018 at his home in Lincoln, California.

Patrick was born March 26, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan an only child to Frank and Agnes Jewell.
In Michigan, he attended Detroit Public Schools, Clarkston High School, the University of Detroit and the University of Michigan Medical School. This was followed by an internship at Munson Hospital in Traverse City, Michigan, a General Surgery Residency at Northwestern University in Chicago and a Pediatric Surgery Fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.

He practiced for a short time at a small Methodist Hospital in Bolivia and served with the 1st Medical Battalion 1st Marine Division Da Nang, South Viet Nam.

Patrick practiced Pediatric Surgery in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Detroit, Michigan and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was also a gardener, great cook, avid photographer with a great eye and a world traveler. His catch phase “Always Curious Never Bored” says it all!

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan. He has two sons, three daughters, five grandchildren and two great- grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation 3011 W. Grand Blvd. Suite 218 Detroit MI 48202 or the Sierra College Foundation Guardian Scholars Fund Sierra College Foundation 5100 Sierra College Blvd, Rocklin CA 95677.

(from the Clarion Ledger)

Dr. Miller was a longtime APSA member and the first surgeon in Mississippi specializing in pediatrics. He served the University of Mississippi Medical Center for 43 years, caring for infants and children, training new physicians and holding multiple administrative roles, including interim chairs of the Anesthesiology and Surgery Departments, associate dean for Clinical Affairs, and medical director of University Hospital. He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Millsaps College in 2011, and the Richard C. Miller Pediatric Surgery Chair at UMMC was named in his honor in 2017. Learn more about his accomplishments.

One of APSA’s Founding Members and a past President, Dr. J. Alex Haller, Jr., died June 13 surrounded by his family.

Haller was the Children’s-Surgeon-in-Charge of Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1964 until 1997. He had a special focus on the treatment of congenital chest wall deformities, pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and systems of care for children with serious injuries. He established the regional trauma center for children at Johns Hopkins, the first such program of its kind in the United States, and also established one of the early pediatric surgery training programs. Haller was one of 24 pediatric surgeons who founded APSA via three organizing meetings in 1969. He was APSA President in 1986. Learn more about his accomplishments from the AAP Oral History Project interview between Haller and Dr. Kurt Newman. See also the press release from Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The funeral will be held Saturday, June 23, 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 4 University Parkway, Baltimore, Maryland.

APSA Founding Member and Past President Dr. E. Thomas Boles had died.

Dr. Boles completed a residency in general surgery at the Ohio State University, followed by pediatric surgery training under Dr. Robert E. Gross at the Boston Children’s Hospital. He then continued his career as a Pediatric Surgeon at Columbus—now Nationwide—Children’s Hospital. He was known as a meticulous surgical technician who exemplified the highest standards in patient care. From 1969, until his retirement in 1991, he served as Chief of the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Columbus Children’s Hospital, directing the training of 22 Pediatric Surgery fellows. He was the Director of the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the Ohio State University from 1972-1991.

Dr. Boles was a founding member of APSA: In 1969, he and Dr. Lucian Leape determined that Pediatric Surgery was sufficiently mature to have its own professional society. Within a year, they had organized a group of pediatric surgeons to create APSA. Dr. Boles served as president of APSA in 1977. Read his full obituary.

There will be a private family service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that those who wish may donate in Dr. Boles’ memory to Nationwide Children’s Hospital at P.O. Box 16810, Columbus, OH, 43216. You can share memories and condolences here.

Dr. John Roberts Maddox, Jr., 83, died peacefully in his sleep Monday, May 21, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He practiced general pediatric surgery at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for almost forty years, affecting thousands of lives. Upon his retirement in 2003, Children’s Hospital named a wing of its operating facilities after him in honorarium. Learn more about his accomplishments in his full obituary.

Children’s National Health Systems/Washington Post

Dr. Rosser was a long-time APSA member.

We are all saddened to hear of the recent death of Dr. Samuel Rosser, who trained under Dr. Judson Randolph from 1970 – 1972. Please see below a recent article from the Washington Post. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Rosser’s family.

Dr. SAMUEL B. ROSSER (Age 83)

Peacefully departed this life on Thursday, January 25, 2018. He is survived by one son, Dr. Charles B. Rosser; daughter-in-law, Mariola Rosser; granddaughter, Samantha Rosser; brother, Richard Rosser; sisters, Sue Ridley and Dr. Audrey Turner; brother-in-law, Joseph Heastie (Ernestine); goddaughter, Alison Baytop; nieces, nephews, other loving relatives and friends. Viewing will be held on Thursday February 1, 2018, 10 a.m., followed by Homegoing Service at 11 a.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1514 – 15th St., N.W. Interment Parklawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make all donations to the Howard University School Of Medicine. Arrangements by McGuire.

(from Daniel Weiner)

Accomplished surgeon, brilliant ethicist, loving wife and mother, talented figure skater…

Aviva KatzAviva was a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, graduated summa cum laude from City College, and received her MD degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine (AOA). Her initial surgical training was at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, where she spent two years in the lab studying pulmonary dysfunction after burns. From Boston, she moved to Buffalo, where she completed her general surgery training. Dr. Arnie Coran recruited her to Michigan for her pediatric surgical training. And it was at Michigan that she met the love of her life, Daniel Weiner.

After completing her pediatric surgical training, Aviva was on faculty at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University as an assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics, with her clinical practice based primarily at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. While in Delaware she welcomed her four wonderful children: Gabe, Sam, Channah, and Shoshana.

Aviva and Daniel were recruited to Pittsburgh in 2006, where she became an associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and an attending surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of UPMC. While in Pittsburgh she developed her passion for medical ethics and earned a Master’s in Arts degree in Bioethics in 2012 with her thesis entitled: Resisting resistance to change: a critical analysis of the structure of surgical residency training programs. Over the ensuing years, she has become a leader in medical ethics within the University as well as the larger surgical and pediatric communities. In Pittsburgh, she was the director of the Consortium Ethics Program, core faculty in the Center for Bioethics and Health Law, and vice-chair of the Institutional Review Board at the University of Pittsburgh as well as the co-director of the Center of Advanced Fetal Diagnostics at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Nationally, she was the chair of the Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and past chair of the Ethics and Advocacy and Family and Community Relations Committees of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. She was also active in the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, serving on multiple committees and task forces.

Clinically, she was loved and respected by her colleagues, patients and their families. She had an incredibly inciteful mind, and a quick wit. She was a staunch advocate for the rights of children and their families. And, although small in stature, she could hold her own among anyone.

Aviva was equally involved outside the hospital/professional environment. She was active in the community as a mentor for women interested in medicine and a coach (for the Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind) in her local community. She presented programs in her school district on issues related to medicine and ethics. And, she loved her family; was so proud of her children and their accomplishments. Finally, she loved to ice skate. She was so excited when her platelet count topped 50 thousand and she was released to skating. And just a few weeks ago, she performed in her club’s holiday performance (although she wasn’t quite sure that she was completely in favor of the outfit)! Aviva, we love you and miss you.

Funeral Services:
Sunday, January 21, 10:30 a.m.
Ralph Schugar Funeral Chapel
5509 Centre Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

The family will be sitting shiva.

Dr. William M. Toyama, age 85, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Friday, November 17, 2017.
Dr. Toyama was born on April 9, 1932, in Minot, North Dakota, the fourth child of Tamagi and Chiyoko (Matsuoka) Toyama. He attended Minot Elementary and Minot High School. After graduation, he attended Minot State College for one year and transferred to North Dakota State. He went to medical school at the University of Michigan (“Go Blue”). He did his internship at Minnesota General Hospital in Minneapolis, and practiced in Detroit, Michigan before entering the U.S. Navy for two years. After two years of work at Miner’s Hospital in Hazard, Kentucky, he then began his surgical residency at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington followed by two years at Roswell Park Hospital and Buffalo Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, New York.
In August of 1967, Dr. Toyama started at the Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph’s Hospital as a pediatric surgeon and loved his work there until his retirement in 1997.
William’s favorite pastimes included watching his grandchildren at sporting events, fishing, hunting with a good bird dog and time with his family. He participated in the American Medical Association, was a member and elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Marshfield, the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatric Surgeons.
He is survived by his wife Gerri to whom he was married to for 54 years, a son Mark (Ruth) Toyama of Chicago, IL; two daughters, Carol (Kevin) Toyama-Longton of Green Bay, WI; Kimberly (Sean) Collins of Nashville, KT; his grandchildren, Kaitlin, Jennifer, Jared, Adam, Zachary, Halle, Grayson and Mitchell; two brothers, Tom Toyama of Eugene Oregon, Roy (Kate) Toyama of Spokane Valley, Washington; a sister Jean Edberg of Auburn, Washington and his beloved Cockapoo, Mandy.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
The family wishes to extend a deep appreciation to the ER and MICU nurses and staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital for their kind and compassionate care.

Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons

Dr. Fonkalsrud was a Founding and Charter Member of APSA and APSA President 1989-1990.

The following is courtesy of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, who grew up in Seattle, Washington, Dr. Fonkalsrud received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington, where he was a member of the national champion crew from 1950-53. He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. Following internship and a year of residency at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Fonkalsrud completed surgical residency at UCLA, followed by training in pediatric surgery at Children’s Hospital of Ohio State University. He returned to UCLA in 1965 as chief of pediatric surgery and spent the remainder of his illustrious career here in Los Angeles. He became professor of Surgery in 1971 and served as executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery from 1982-88. He became emeritus professor in 2001.

Dr. Fonkalsrud was a busy clinician who performed more than 15,000 operations during his career. He was a world authority on the management of congenital chest wall malformations and gastroesophageal reflux disease in children, neonatal surgery, and management of inflammatory bowel disease in children and adults. Dr. Fonkalsrud had one of the country’s largest clinical experiences with the ileoanal pouch procedure for patients with severe ulcerative colitis. He also initiated liver transplantation at the UCLA Medical Center in 1968, using a heterotopic technique different from the orthotopic approach now in use.

Dr. Fonkalsrud was an international figure in his field. He served as president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons, the Southern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and the Los Angeles Surgical Society. Among his many honors and awards, he was a James IV Association Traveling Scholar, and he received the Coe Medal from the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons “for lifelong contributions to the field of pediatric surgery”, the Golden Apple and Golden Scalpel Awards at UCLA, “Man of the Year” from the California Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and the UCLA Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award in 2014. He was particularly proud of his award as Forest Farmer of Year in Western Washington in 1997.

Dr. Fonkalsrud was a consummate educator and mentor to thousands of students and residents. More than a dozen of Dr. Fonkalsrud’s residents and research fellows went on to train in pediatric surgery fellowship programs. He took this role so seriously that he continued weekly teaching conferences with residents and students through his entire retirement and only suspended these a few months ago when his health required him to do so. Generations of trainees will remember learning about pediatric patients and their surgical problems from Dr. Fonkalsrud, fortified by popcorn and soda in his office on the 7th floor of CHS.

Rick, as he was known to so many of us, was a great friend who lived life to the fullest. He was an avid athlete, indeed a competitive triathlete, a devoted swimmer. He was thoroughly dedicated to the University and the School of Medicine. His career spanned the period of growth and maturation of our School, and he contributed measurably in many ways that make us the institution we are today.
Dr. Fonkalsrud is survived by his wife Peggy, their four children Eric Jr., Lynn, David and Robb, and six grandchildren. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all of the Fonkalsrud family for their great loss.
Dr. Fonkalsrud’s funeral service will be held at the Westwood Methodist Church on Saturday, May 13, at 2 pm.

A memorial service will be held at UCLA in June.

Gifts can be made to the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery at UCLA. Click here for more information.

(from her obituary, Altmeyer Funeral Homes)

Michele Lynn Lombardo, MD, died January 15, 2017, after a long fight with breast cancer. Lombardo was an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine, an Advanced Trauma Life Support Instructor, was an active member of various committees at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Pediatric Surgical Association, and member of numerous professional organizations including the International Pediatric Endosurgery Group, American Medical Association, Medical Society of Virginia, Tidewater Pediatric Society, and Chest Wall International Group. Dr. Lombardo was elected by her peers for recognition in Coastal Virginia Magazine as a “Top Doc” in 2015 and 2016. Learn more about Lombardo’s accomplishments.

A celebration of Michele’s life and work will be held in Norfolk, and a remembrance will be held in Connecticut.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to CHKD, or a fund that has been graciously established by her friends at CHKD on behalf of Murray:
Please make checks payable to “Joseph Murray Onofrio” and sent to: Joey Weinberg, SunTrust PWM, 150 W. Main Street, Suite 1400, Norfolk VA 23510.

(from his obituary posted in the IndyStar)

Dr. Grosfeld served as APSA President, 1994-1995, Chair of the APSA Foundation. President of the American Surgical Association, Vice President of the American College of Surgeons and as the stalwart leader and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery since 1994.

The Grosfeld family will hold a memorial service and reception at the Indianapolis Museum of Art from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 19, 2016.

Dr. Grosfeld was recognized as an outstanding clinician, master surgeon, inspiring teacher, talented administrator, innovative scientific investigator, surgical leader and a staunch advocate for children. Read his full obituary.

Dr. Grosfeld was recognized as an outstanding clinician, master surgeon, inspiring teacher, talented administrator, innovative scientific investigator, surgical leader and a staunch advocate for children. Read his full obituary.

Dr. Grosfeld was recognized as an outstanding clinician, master surgeon, inspiring teacher, talented administrator, innovative scientific investigator, surgical leader and a staunch advocate for children.

To learn more about Dr. Grosfeld, read this wonderful interview by Dr. Michael Klein for the AAP Oral History Project.

from Dr. Erik Skarsgard, CAPS President

From an email sent to CAPS members

It is with sad hearts that we let you know that Barry Shandling passed away comfortably and peacefully on Saturday, October 1st, 2016.

“Dr Shandling” had a remarkable career that spanned 4 decades at Toronto’s SickKids hospital. He was a flawless surgeon, committed to his patients, and not without “a bit” of a sense of humor. He was equally adored by the families he treated and the fellows he trained.

Along with Harvey Beardmore, Barry was instrumental in the “conception” and “birth” of our beloved CAPS– of which he is a Founding member, serving as our first Secretary Treasurer (1967-74), and our 6th President (1981-83).

Our thoughts are with Barry’s wife Mary and the rest of the Shandling family.

Erik Skarsgard, MD
President, CAPS

(from his obituary in the Birmingham News)

APSA member Dr. Walter Cain died September 2, 2016. He had served on the faculty for the Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama School of Medicine, and practiced at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. After his retirement, Cain made periodic trips with other physicians and assistants to perform free surgery in poor third world countries. Donations and memorials can be made to Children’s of Alabama. He will be dearly missed by friends and loved ones. Read his full obituary.

(from Dr. Ronald B. Hirschl)

Daniel TeitelbaumDaniel H. Teitelbaum, MD, died on August 17, 2016, after a long struggle with a brain tumor. He completed undergraduate studies at Northwestern University before earning his medical degree at the Ohio State College of Medicine in 1983. After training in general surgery and pediatric surgery at Ohio State University Hospital and Columbus Children’s Hospital, respectively, he joined the University of Michigan faculty as an assistant professor of surgery in 1992 and rose through the ranks to be named full professor in 2004. Dan performed a wide range of general pediatric surgery with a particular interest in disorders of sexual development, short bowel syndrome and pediatric colorectal problems including Hirschsprung Disease. He served for two years as Chair of the APSA Program Committee.

The primary focus of Dan’s investigative work was parenteral nutrition and short bowel syndrome. He was working on: a device to grow the intestines of the many patients he managed that had inadequate intestinal length; approaches to creating artificial intestine; ways to manipulate the intestinal microbiome by altering the composition of the nutrition administered; and new non-immunosuppressive treatments for inflammatory bowel disease. Other research interests included prevention of hyperalimentation-associated liver disease as well as gut immunology and mucosal permeability in the newborn. Dan had 259 peer-reviewed publications and was continuously funded by the NIH for 17 years. He recently served as President of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), teaching and promoting optimal nutrition for individuals around the world.

As the pediatric surgery training program director, Dan was passionate about training the best pediatric surgeons and educating, supporting and mentoring pediatric surgery fellows. He was always loved by the residents and fellows and was nominated by them and received the annual Section on Surgery American Academy of Pediatrics Salzberg Award for his teaching and mentoring.

Dan was a proud husband and father. He was married for 29 years to his wife, Mindy Teitelbaum, with whom he had three daughters: Hannah, Abigail and Rachel.

Dan was a wonderful clinician, a devoted teacher and a brilliant researcher. He was a man of great wisdom and intuition who cared for the most complicated patients with devotion and medical and surgical skill. Everything that he did professionally was for the patient, for the resident or fellow, for the field of pediatric surgery, or for society. He was an extraordinary physician/scientist whose skill as a surgeon affected the lives of thousands of patients and their families and whose legacy as a scientist will forever impact the care of children.

(from the Press-Register & Baldwin County News)

Randall Wayne Powell, MD, died July 25 at the age of 70. He was a long-time APSA member and retired professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. In addition to a devotion to training medical students and residents, Powell belonged to a very small group of surgeons who trained beyond general surgery residency in order to care for neonates and children with all the complex congenital defects and the different physiology of the growing child. Read his full obituary.

“The Source” from Washington University in St. Louis

Jessie L. Ternberg, PhD, MD, died July 9, 2016, at the age of 92. She was professor emerita of surgery and surgery in pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. Ternberg, who had been an APSA member, helped pave the way for women in medicine. She was the first female surgery resident and first femaile chief resident at (then) Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. Ternberg was instrumental in establishing the Division of Pediatric Surgery and was named its director and became the first woman to be elected head of the School of Medicine’s faculty council. Ternberg may best be recognized as the author of “A Handbook for Pediatric Surgery”, which became known as the bible of pediatric surgery. Read more about Ternberg’s accomplishments.

(from his obituary in the Press-Enterprise Newspaper in Riverside, CA)

Dr. de Vries was a Charter Member of APSA.

Pieter A. de Vries, MD
June 28, 1921-March 26, 2016
A pioneering pediatric surgeon and native of San Francisco, “Piet” as he was known to his friends and family, attended Lowell High School, and University of California, Berkeley from 1939-1943, but graduated with both his BA and MD from Stanford in 1944 and 1947. He served in active duty in the Naval Reserve, 1947-1949 interrupting his surgical training to serve as ship’s doctor in Japan and China after the end of WWII. He completed train­ing in General Surgery at the University of Michigan, finishing in 1951 and moved to Boston for advanced training in Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children’s Hos­pital, 1951-1953. Piet was the first specialty-trained pediatric surgeon to prac­tice in the West, establish­ing a private practice in San Francisco. Known for his scholarship and a passion for perfection in his care of children, he practiced for many years in San Francisco.

He loved training resi­dents and students and held them to a high standard. He maintained both re­search and clinical teaching appointments at Stanford, and research appointments at UC Berkeley and Pres­byterian Medical Center. For many years, his basic science lab focused on com­parative anatomy, normal human development, and developmental anomalies. He was keenly interested in molecular biology and the emerging fields of genomics and proteomics, especially as they applied to diseases of childhood. His clinical practice led him to Santa Clara County Medical Center where he was Chief of Pediatric Surgery and then Chief of Pediatric, Gen­eral and Thoracic Surgery, then UC Davis, University of Kansas, and finally back to San Francisco, where he retired in 1996. His meticulous embryological studies laid the foundation for innovations in cardiac and anorectal surgery.

His practice began in an era before the develop­ment of academic pediatric surgery in the West, but throughout his career he was sought after as a visit­ing professor internationally, and he served as Professor of Surgery at Stanford, UC Davis and University of Kansas. He was a founding member of the American Pediatric Surgical Associa­tion and the Pacific Associa­tion of Pediatric Surgeons.

Piet delighted in music and dance, fly fishing in the Trinity Alps, Stanford football and Cal track. But he was rarely far from the water and sailboats, and both as skipper and crew, sailed for more than 50 years as a member of the San Francisco Yacht Club. Though he was a fierce com­petitor on the Bay, he could “charm the birds out of the trees” in social situations, and was especially warm in his later years, and with his grandchildren. Until very shortly before his death, he continued to study, intrigued by a full range of topics from the esoteric to the quotidian.

He died peacefully at his home in Marin County, Cali­fornia. He was preceded in death by his twin sister, Betty Bjornskov, their older sister, Annette Smitt and first wife, Jo de Vries. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Louise de Vries, eight children and stepchil­dren: Catherine de Vries, Mary de Vries, Pieter E. de Vries, Lauren Cutter, Joani de Vries, Lynn Tennefoss, Michael Tennefoss, and Nan Chrostek, 15 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Contributions in his name can be made to the Ameri­can Pediatric Surgery As­sociation Foundation, GICS Fund for training of young pediatric surgeons from low income countries. https://www.eapsa.org/about-apsa/apsa-foundation/donate/ or contact [email protected].

(from his obituary on Legacy.com)

Dr. Jack Chang died February 22, 2016. A true innovator, in 1980, he was part of a trio who began the first pediatric-only liver transplant program in the United States at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Chang also established Rocky Mountain Pediatric Surgery and helped found the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver. Learn more about his accomplishments.

(from his obituary on Legacy.com)

Dr. Jack Chang died February 22, 2016. A true innovator, in 1980, he was part of a trio who began the first pediatric-only liver transplant program in the United States at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Chang also established Rocky Mountain Pediatric Surgery and helped found the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver. Learn more about his accomplishments.

(from his obituary posted in the Dallas Morning News)

Dr. C. Dale Coln, a longtime APSA member, died January 5, 2016. Coln was Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Southwestern Medical School where he was chairman of the Division of Pediatric Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Parkland from 1972-1987. He was Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center from 1987-2005. Coln established and was director of the Pediatric Trauma Unit at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the first trauma unit in the US designated solely for pediatric patients. He was a member of numerous societies and received many awards during his career, including being immortalized as a Giant of Surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas. Read his full obituary.

Hugh B. Lynn, MD, died November 10, 2015, at the age of 101. Lynn was a Charter Member of APSA.

Read the full obituary.

Read the notice.

from Dr. Burt Harris

Eric Walburgh, MD, MBA, FACS, FAAP, died on September 29, 2015 in Clayton, Georgia, of injuries sustained when he was struck by a falling tree during a recreational motorcycle trip.

Eric was born in 1945, grew up in upstate New York, was graduated from Brown University in 1967 with a degree in classics, received the MD from the State University of New York in Syracuse, was a resident in surgery at Eastern Virginia University, and trained in pediatric surgery at the Montreal Children’s Hospital with Harvey Beardmore. Following service as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, he joined the staff of the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and became chief of the department of surgery. During his service in Norfolk, he operated on the first baby conceived by in vitro fertilization. After 13 years in Virginia, in 1994 he accepted a new appointment at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, and became the founding Chief of Surgery of the new Mission Children’s Hospital, a position he held at the time of his death. His contributions to the City of Asheville and the Children’s Hospital are beyond measure; he was a skilled and respected surgeon dedicated to the hospital and his patients.

Eric was a big, warm, sweet guy, blessed with wisdom, courage and a zest for life. Rare among people of his tenure and accomplishments, he was genuinely admired by everyone in the hospital and many close personal friends. Beside his gifts of good health to generations of children, his passions were his best friend and loving wife Regie, their three rescued standard poodles, motorcycles, sailboats and the peaceful woods and mountains of western North Carolina. Eric had a full life, well-lived, and spent his last 40 years doing what he loved.

Funeral arrangements were private. A memorial service was held at the hospital on October 15, attended by hundreds. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.ashevillemortuaryservices.com

(from UPMC News Flash with additional edits from Barbara Gaines and Mary Fallat)

Dr Sieber was a founding member of APSA.

William “Bill” Sieber, MD, a member of the class of 1941 and subsequently resident in surgery and pediatric surgery until 1950 at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, pediatric surgeon 1950 to 1990, died in May 2015. Survived by his wife, Anne M. Sieber, his three sons, and six grandchildren, Dr. Sieber was a general surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh who was credited with medical breakthroughs in the hospital’s early days.

Dr Sieber was known as a meticulous, attentive surgeon. As one of two general surgeons principally working at Children’s Hospital in the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Sieber’s practice was impressively large. He was the surgeon to whom pediatricians not only referred their patients, but also took their own children to see when they needed surgical care. He worked tireless hours and contributed substantively to the training of dozens of future pediatric surgeons. In the care of newborns to adolescents, trainees knew him as a hard-to-please teacher who expected them to work as hard as he did. He was a scholar as well as a virtuoso surgeon. Dr. Sieber continued his grueling solo practice until 1973, when he took on Eugene S. Wiener, MD, and soon after, Kamthorn Sukarochana, MD.

Dr Sieber was one of the founding members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, and was considered for election to its presidency. He was also a founding member of the Lilliputian Surgical Society. In addition, he was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons as well as a member of the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Sieber was interviewed for an article that ran in a 2009 issue of Pitt Med. “Appendectomies and hernia operations were commonly done. But by far the greatest number of patients had infections and required drainage of abscesses. The primary risk in those days was the anesthetic. It was administered primarily by nurses. It consisted primarily of open-drop ether. In most cases, the nurse would monitor the pulse by feeling the pulse. It was, what I would consider, the most dangerous part of the operation.”

His legacy lives on in the form of the William K. Sieber, MD, Pediatric Surgery Award, given annually to a senior medical student with an outstanding performance in pediatric surgery.

Press release from the John Templeton Foundation

Dr. John “Jack” Templeton, Jr. died May 16 at the age of 75. Templeton, a long-time APSA member, trained under Dr. C. Everett Koop and was a pediatric surgeon and director of the trauma program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 27 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM EDT at Chadwick and
McKinney Funeral Home, 30 East Athens Avenue, Ardmore, Pennsylvania. A private family
funeral service will be held in Winchester, Tennessee.

The Templeton family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Trauma
Society, PA Division, 2 Flowers Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050

Read the full press release.

Obituary provided by Drs. Mary Fallat and Kurt Newman

Dr. Judson Randolph died on May 17, 2015. He served as APSA President from 1984 – 1985.

BORN July 19, 1927, in Macon, Georgia; died May 17, 2015, at home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Randolph grew up in Nashville, where he attended Hillsboro High School and was an Eagle Scout. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945-1946 aboard the USS Alabama. He returned to Nashville, where he graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1950 and from Vanderbilt Medical School in 1953. Dr. Randolph’s wife of nearly 50 years, Comfort Adams Randolph, died in 2001. Dr. Randolph is survived by his five children: Somers of Santa Fe; Garrett of Belfast, Maine; Judson Jr. (Catherine) of Seattle; Adam of Sewanee; and Comfort (Bradford Belbas) of Edina, Minnesota. He is survived by eight grandchildren.

In his professional life, Dr. Randolph trained in general surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He trained in pediatric surgery at the Boston Children’s Hospital under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Gross, whom he considered an esteemed mentor. He remained in Boston on the faculty of Harvard Medical School at Boston Children’s until he accepted the position as Surgeon-In-Chief of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C., a post he held for nearly 30 years. He was the first full time surgeon for children in Washington, DC and achieved the rank of Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at George Washington University. Dr. Randolph was adored by his patients and families and played an active role in the care of complicated patients until well into their adulthood. He was one of the first pediatric surgeons who focused on children’s burn care and was a leader in the advancement of surgical care of children with cancer. He was also well known for his creativity in the care of children with complex anomalies. He published widely, educated wisely, acknowledged failures along with accomplishments, and ignored the typewriter in favor of characteristic handwritten notes that became one of his trademarks.

Dr. Randolph provided significant leadership in developing the specialty of pediatric surgery in America. Along with Dr. William Clatworthy, who chaired a newly formed education committee within the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Randolph was instrumental in establishing the requirements for the two-year training program in Pediatric Surgery for the United States and Canada in the late 1960’s. At the time, there were 12 programs in North America training pediatric surgeons and his program became the thirteenth when he recruited John Lilly to come to Washington to train. He was on the committee that successfully approached the American Board of Surgery to obtain specialty board certification, resulting in the certificate of special competence in Pediatric Surgery. He was the first pediatric surgeon to represent the specialty as a director on the American Board of Surgery. He, along with Drs. Harvey Beardmore and Marc Rowe, developed the first written examination in Pediatric Surgery.

While in Washington Dr. Randolph served as president of the Washington Academy of Surgery, chairman of the Surgical Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics and President of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. He was also a member of the American and Southern Surgical Associations and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He was awarded the Ladd Gold Medal by the American Academy of Pediatrics for his surgical service to children and the distinguished graduate Medal by Vanderbilt Medical School. It was a source of great satisfaction to Dr. Randolph that he trained over 40 of the finest surgeons in Pediatric Surgery who have practiced their specialty throughout this country and abroad, and many of whom have become Chiefs and Training Program Directors.

Dr. Randolph was a member of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University from 1981 to 2004, at which time he became an Emeritus Board Member. He was a member of Leadership Nashville, and in 2007 he was elected to the Nashville Public Schools Hall of Fame.

There will be two memorial services for Dr. Randolph. The first will be held on July 25 in his hometown of Nashville. The second will be held later in Washington, D.C. to celebrate his personal and professional life there for 30 years. In lieu of flowers, family suggest memorial gifts to the Judson G. Randolph Fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at Children’s National, which can be mailed to Children’s Hospital Foundation, 801 Roeder Rd Suite #300. Silver Spring, MD 20910 or online at https://giving.childrensnational.org

For a wonderful overview of his illustrious career, read the transcript of an interview of Dr. Randolph by Dr. Kurt Newman for the Pediatric History Center, American Academy of Pediatrics.

This poem, written by Dr. Randolph’s son Garrett Randolph, is a tribute to his father. It was read by Dr. Mary Fallat during the APSA 2016 Annual Meeting. Posted with permission of the author.

From Dr. Jack Langer, The Hospital for Sick Kids, Ontario Canada

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Dr. Sigmund (Siggie) H. Ein on January 25, 2015, with his wife Arlene and his family at his side.

Dr. Ein began his career at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada on July 1, 1969, where he spent his entire career until his retirement in 2004. During his 35 years in practice he held many leadership positions within the world of Pediatric Surgery. He was President of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons and Chair of the Royal College of Surgeons Specialty Committee for Pediatric Surgery. He was an active and involved member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Surgery. In particular, for the past 10 years he, along with Mike Caty, ran the much-loved difficult case session at the AAP Section on Surgery meeting.

Dr. Ein was internationally known for documenting the natural history of a wide variety of paediatric surgical conditions and for promoting non-operative management of the ruptured spleen and the use of peritoneal drainage for perforated necrotizing enterocolitis. He was not afraid to speak up at surgical meetings when he felt the need, and his combination of humour and wisdom was respected by all.

But first and foremost, Siggie Ein was all about patient care. He was devoted to the children and their families, and his advocacy on their behalf served as a powerful role model for several generations of his trainees and colleagues. He had strong opinions and he never hesitated to share them, but his focus was always on the best interests of the child.

Dr. Ein was a dedicated surgeon, teacher, mentor, husband and father whose pursuit of excellence in patient care will continue to influence us for generations to come. We will miss him deeply.

From John HT Waldhausen, MD, Division Chief Pediatric Surgery, Fellowship Training Program Director, Seattle Children’s Hospital

Dr. Robert Thomas Schaller, Jr., a long time member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, died at Evergreen Hospice in Kirkland, WA, on December 7, 2014, at the age of 80. He died peacefully after a short illness in the presence of his family. Dr. Schaller was born on October 15, 1934, in Hamburg, NY. He attended Yale University (class of ’56), where he was captain of the track team. While there he was a top class mile runner nearly breaking the 4 minute barrier when no one else had yet done so. He attended Harvard Medical School (class of ’60), and moved to Seattle, WA for his surgical residency at the University of Washington. While in Seattle he became an accomplished mountain climber with numerous ascents of Rainier and many other mountains in the Cascades, Olympics and Alaska. During the 1960s while a resident at UW, he was involved in an effort by the CIA to climb some of the highest mountains in the Himalaya in order to monitor the Chinese development of nuclear weapons (described in a 2007 article in the Seattle PI,). During the course of one of those climbs he made a solo ascent of Nanda Devi at 25,643 feet the 23rd highest mountain in the world, which at the time set the American solo altitude record. He subsequently was a member and team physician of the American K2 expeditions in 1975 and 1978. The latter was the third successful team in history to summit that mountain, the second highest in the world.

Dr Schaller was a talented and prolific pediatric surgeon in Seattle, conducting thousands of surgical procedures on sick children at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He was a passionate member of the teaching faculty at the hospital and a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington. His energy and enthusiasm for his work was infectious and he inspired many residents to seek a career in pediatric surgery. He had a love of photography and took countless photos of both mountains and his operative cases which he used in his lectures to students, residents and fellows which now reside as a large teaching file.

Dr Schaller lived a full life, and will be missed by many. He is survived by seven children from three marriages, three grandchildren, his younger brother, Chris, and his wife, Teresa. A memorial service is being planned for April, 2015.

From Robert J Touloukian, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine

I have the sad duty to inform you that John H Seashore, MD, of New Haven, CT, passed on December 5, 2014. Dr. Seashore served on the Faculty at the Yale School of Medicine from 1973 to 2003 and rose to the rank of Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, retiring as Professor Emeritus while remaining active in surgical education for many years. He was a graduate of the Yale School of Medicine ,trained in General Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and completed his pediatric surgical training under James Talbert At the University of Florida . Dr. Seashore was a leader in the field of intravenous nutrition and an expert in neonatal surgery. He was beloved by his surgical residents and Fellows in Pediatric Surgery. Dr. Seashore is survived by his wife Margareta, three children and two grandchildren. He is honored at Yale for his commitment and contributions to Pediatric surgery.

Dr. Wrenn died on November 6, 2014 at the age of 90. During his career he practiced in Philadelphia, Boston and Memphis. Wrenn was the first attending surgeon and St. Jude Children’s Research Center in Memphis. Read his full obituary.

From the Miami Herald

Dr. Lankau died December 7, 2013, at the age of 75. Lankau served as Chief of the Department of Pediatric Surgery for almost 31 years and was on staff at Baptist Hospital of Miami. Read his full obituary.

She graduated from Medicine College of Wisconsin and was an accomplished physician and a well respected and board certified pediatric surgeon with special expertise in several areas. She also was a professor of surgery emeritus at Texas Tech University and was published in, and contributed to, nearly 80 publications.

Dr. Besserman died on November 2, 2013, at the age of 78.

He was a long-time APSA member and the first pediatric surgeon in Austin, Texas. “Dr. Besserman was the founder of Austin Pediatric Surgery Association, and started practice in Austin in 1973, where he practiced until his retirement in 2000. He will be remembered for his quick wit and generous heart,” noted Dr. Robert Schlechter. Read Dr. Besserman’s full obituary in the Austin Statesman. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the memory of Dr. Abraham Besserman to Dell Children’s Hospital or Hospice Austin.

Dr. John Noseworthy died on November 5, 2013. He served on the APSA Board of Governors in 2002 and was a member and chair of many APSA committees.

“John served as the APSA Foundation agent in Florida for many years. He was a valued advisor to the APSA Foundation, providing many ideas for fund raising efforts and attracting donors. He was a strong supporter of the Foundation’s stated goals and objectives and a recognized advocate for children especially in Florida and Delaware – because of his relationship with Nemours. John was a gentleman, a scholar and a good friend. WE in the Pediatric Surgery community will miss him.” Dr. Jay Grosfeld, APSAF Chair. Read Dr. Noseworthy’s full obituary.

(from his obituary posted in the Florida Times-Union)

Dr. Albert H. Wilkinson died on July 10, 2013, at the age of 86. After post-doctoral training in New Orleans, Atlanta and Chicago, Albert was offered a faculty position at Northwestern University but declined in order to return to Jacksonville and become the first Pediatric Surgeon in Florida. He began his practice, serving all hospitals in Duval County and continuing his research. Dr. Wilkinson performed the first successful corrective surgery on a newborn with their heart outside their body. Wilkinson formed Pediatric Surgical Associates with his former resident, Dr. Warner Webb. They later merged their practice into the Nemours Children’s Clinic where Albert was the Founding Medical Director. Albert helped create the first Tumor Registry in the State of Florida to track children’s cancers and management. After retiring from clinical practice, Albert remained a Consultant at Nemours and wrote two books on the history of children s health care in Jacksonville. He was Executive Director of the Florida Association of Children’s Hospitals for more than a decade. Even as an octogenarian, Albert could be found in the halls of the State Capitol and congressional office buildings, lobbying for improvements in children’s health care. Read the full obituary.

Dr. Koop served as the Surgeon General of the United States (1981-1989) and was APSA’s second President (1971-1972)

Dr. C. Everett Koop died at his home in New Hampshire on Monday, February 25, 2013 at the age of 96. As noted in the National Library of Medicine, he graduated from Cornell University Medical College in 1941, and became the first surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1945. A one-year internship with William E. Ladd and Robert E. Gross at Children’s Hospital Boston started a decades-long campaign to establish the field of pediatric surgery on the basis that children’s bodies are anatomically and physiologically different from adults and thus require special surgical procedures. He established the nation’s first neonatal surgical intensive care unit in 1956 and made significant contributions to the treatment of diaphragmatic hernias, esophageal atresia and hydrocephalus.

As surgeon general, Koop was outspoken on medical ethics, anti-smoking, birth defects, disabilities and AIDS. At the end of his term he became chairman of the National Safe Kids Campaign and spoke widely on health care reform through the rest of his life. Read more about Dr. Koop in the National Libarary of Medicine.

(from Dr Hoballah, Chairman of Surgery at the American University of Beirut)

(from his obituary posted on the Houston Jewish Funerals and Dallas Jewish Funerals website)

Dr. Leonard Graivier, noted pediatric surgeon, died suddenly Sunday morning, June 17, 2012. His legacy survives in his extraordinary, loving family and in the lives of countless infants and children who benefited from his surgical commitment, care and expertise.

Between 1964 and 1984, he was in private practice in Dallas and trained numerous surgeons as Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. After arthritis forced him to retire from active practice, he became Medical Director of both Control Data Corporation and Electronic Data Systems. He was Attending Pediatric Surgeon at Children’s Medical Center, Parkland, Medical City and St. Paul Hospitals and Consulting Physician at Baylor, Methodist and Presbyterian Hospitals. His medical organization memberships include American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics (surgical section), Dallas Society of General Surgeons and Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity. Dr. Graivier published 41 articles in Pediatric Surgery literature, including a chapter in a Pediatric Surgery textbook. Part of a team that separated Siamese twins in Pittsburgh, he again separated Siamese twins in Dallas in 1979. He was Visiting Professor, Pediatric Surgery at Tokyo Children’s Hospital, Japan, Great Ormand Street Hospital, London, England and the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.

Dr. Robert T. Soper, 87, of Iowa City, died Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, at Oaknoll Retirement Residence, surrounded by his loving family following a brief illness. Memorial services are planned in his honor for 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City.

Dr. Soper was a prominent pediatric surgeon at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine for almost four decades and had served as an emeritus professor since his retirement in 1995. Robert or ‘Bob’ is survived by his wife, Helene Jolas, as well as six children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Dr. Soper was born at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and grew up in Emmetsburg, Iowa. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater of World War II and was proud to have been on a destroyer that participated in the Tokyo Bay ceremony ending the war. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he met his future wife, the daughter of a Cornell College professor of music. Drawn to a calling in medicine, he attended the University of Iowa College of Medicine and then trained in Cleveland and Mason City before returning to Iowa for a general surgery residency. He then took his fledgling family to Liverpool, England, where he performed a one-year fellowship in pediatric (children’s) surgery, a new specialty that was just emerging. Dr. Soper returned to Iowa City to join the faculty at the University of Iowa. He rose through the professorial ranks and ultimately served as the interim chair of the Department of Surgery from 1992-1995. Dr. Soper was the first and only surgeon to specialize in pediatric surgery in the state of Iowa for many years, treating thousands of children during his long and productive tenure at the university.

Dr. Soper had a very distinguished academic career. He was the editor of seven textbooks of surgery and more than 200 scientific articles. He was invited to give lectures throughout the world on various topics in pediatric surgery and demonstrated operations in several foreign countries. He also performed missionary work in the Congo and on a Navajo reservation.

Dr. Soper was a mentor to many medical students and surgical residents. He was instrumental in training hundreds of surgeons who carried his passion for surgery to all corners of the state of Iowa and across the United States. Dr. Soper received the prestigious Ernest Theilen Clinical Teaching and Service Award from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 1996 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006. In 1998, the Robert T. and Helene J. Soper Chair of Surgery was established, the first endowed chair within the Department of Surgery.

Dr. Soper had a positive influence on many people and was revered by all who came in contact with him as an honest, dedicated, and humble individual. He took care of his patients passionately and treated those around himself with respect and dignity.

Bob also cared deeply about his family and managed to carve out time from his incredibly busy profession to be involved in the lives of those he loved. He and his wife of 61 years created an atmosphere of love and inclusiveness with a passion for music, the arts and science in their household. Their loving partnership touched many lives beyond their nuclear family.

Although he will be missed by all those who love him, his legacy will remain vibrant and his spirit lives on in our hearts and minds.

Instead of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Dr. Soper’s memory to the Oaknoll Foundation.

(from Dr. Keith Oldham)

Dr. Donald C. Liu died August 5, 2012, in the course of rescuing two children from drowning in Lake Michigan. He was an active, successful and dynamic mentor, colleague and friend. Don was Surgeon-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital and the Mary Campau Ryerson Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics. He was a long-time APSA member who served on a variety of committees, most recently on Membership & Credentials. Don went to medical school at Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia followed by residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and pediatric surgical fellowship at the University of Michigan. This is a truly sad moment. On behalf of APSA, we extend our sympathy and prayers to Don’s wife, Dr. Dana Suskind, and three children: Genevieve, 13, Asher, 10, and Amalie, 7.

You can read the article from the Chicago Tribune.

Memorial Contributions
The Dr. Don Liu Memorial Fund
University of Chicago
Medicine & Biological Sciences Development
Attn: Abbe Temkin
130 East Randolph Street, Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60601
Gifts can also be made online (and by entering information in the Donor Specified area in the first section)

Obituary
Dr. Donald Chua Liu
Beloved husband of Dana Suskind. Loving father of Genevieve, Asher, and Amelie. Cherished son of Dr. Donald Ho Yu Liu and Dr. Emilie A. Chua. Dear brother of Diana Liu. Devoted son-in-law of Robert Suskind and Leslie Lewinter-Suskind. Services Wednesday 12 noon at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago. Interment Oakwoods Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Donald C. Liu Research Memorial Fund – University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, Attn: Abbe Temkin, University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences Development Office, 130 E. Randolph, Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60601. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals – Buffalo Grove Chapel, 847.229.8822.

Dr. William Carl Bailey died in Denver, Colorado, on July 31, 2012, as a consequence of an acute intracranial bleed. Dr. Bailey was the first fellowship-trained pediatric surgeon to practice in Denver, and he founded a busy practice that eventually blended with the University of Colorado system in the late 1980s. His unflappable integrity served as an ever-living guide in the career of many young pediatric surgeons that had the fortune of being influenced by him. He is survived by his wife and life-companion Joan, four wonderful children including a pediatrician, and grandchildren. He will be dearly missed.

Dr. Swenson was true pioneer in the surgical treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease and served as APSA President from 1964-1965.

(from The Post & Courier newspaper)
Dr. Orvar Swenson was born in Helsingborg, Sweden on February 7, 1909. He was the third child of Amanda and Carl Albert Swenson. He grew up with his brother Alvin and sister Lillie. His father was a wheelwright and a missionary of the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints (now known as the Community of Christ). In 1917 his family immigrated to Independence, Missouri. By the time he reached his teenage years both of his parents had died. He and his brother lived in a boarding house and started a business making fire by friction sets for the Boy Scouts. This business, “Woodcraft”, grew to include archery equipment and, for a short time, field hockey sticks. (It is now a nationwide company selling equipment and tools for woodworking.) In 1929 Orvar graduated from William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri where he had been elected President of the Student Council, was Captain of the debate Team and President of the Anti-Smoking League. He graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri in 1933.

He then forsook the business world and entered Harvard University Medical School in Boston. He and his brother Alvin were in the same class and shared textbooks. After graduation he served his internship at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He returned to the Harvard University Program at Boston Lying In Hospital for his surgical residency. He spent a year as the Tracey Cabot Fellow doing research on Hirschsprung’s Disease and during that year developed a bowel resection procedure that became a cure for this disease. In 1941 he married Melva Elizabeth Criley from Independence, Missouri. They honeymooned in the Smokey Mountains on their way to Boston where they settled and raised their three daughters.

In 1945 he became an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Surgery at Harvard University in Boston where he was a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital and worked with Dr. Robert Gross. In 1949 Orvar became the first Pediatric Surgeon at Tufts University, Boston Floating Hospital in Boston. In 1960 he moved his family to Chicago, IL and became the Surgeon-in-Chief at the Children’s Memorial Hospital. Orvar traveled extensively demonstrating his Hirschsprung’s procedure in hospitals all over the world: India, Australia, South America, Europe and Canada. During his career he received many awards and commendations worldwide and he served as President of the American Pediatric Surgical Association from 1964-1965. He wrote over 100 papers published in numerous medical journals. His book “Pediatric Surgery” was a standard textbook read by pediatric surgery residents worldwide. Orvar had a passion for sailing and spent 50 years sailing his various boats (SS Enema, Golden Arrow, Three Belles, and Droja) in the Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida and the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1973 he retired with his wife Melva to Rockport, ME. They were snowbirds and also had a home in Ft. Pierce, FL. He took up woodworking in retirement and made many beautiful pieces of furniture. In 2000 Orvar and Melva moved to Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community in Charleston, South Carolina. Orvar was married for 67 years when his wife Melva died in 2008. Orvar Swenson loved the adventures of life as well as truth and family. He had a keen interest in world affairs and environmental issues. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends – especially daughters: Wenda Elizabeth Swenson (Houston, Texas); Elsa Swenson Teel (Blue Hill, Maine); and Melva “Mimi” Swenson Owens (Charleston, South Carolina); grandchildren: Catherine Devore Johnson, Christopher James Edmond Devore, Jenna Viktoria Frasca, Tyra Lilly Walsh, William Orvar Owens, and Evan Swenson Owens; great grandchildren: Ethan Devore Johnson, Lila Elise Johnson, Matiyah Victory Frasca, Beckett Criley Walsh, Wyatt Swenson Walsh, and Thayer James Devore. A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Bishop Gadsden at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The family will greet friends following the service. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Bishop Gadsden Residents’ Assistance Fund, 1 Bishop Gadsden Way, Charleston, SC, 29412. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Downtown Chapel.

(excerpt from the StarTribune newspaper)

Stacy Ari Roback, MD, died unexpectedly on Friday, January 20, 2012, at the age of 70. Throughout his 45 year career as a gifted pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Minnesota, Dr. Roback healed and touched the lives of thousands of children. His talent as a surgeon was complemented and exceeded by his empathetic, gentle manner that comforted countless families during difficult times with their sick child. That same beloved personality made Stacy a one-of-a-kind husband, father, grandfather and friend. His humble, selfless nature and his extensive knowledge and experience made him a unique and special human being.

Dr. Stephens was one of the true pioneers in Children’s Surgery.

(excerpt from Durham Smith, a professional associate of Dr. Stephens’ for 55 years)

Douglas Stephens died on 10th December 2011 at the age of 98 years. There are some scientists who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of a subject, or who systematize a body of existing knowledge, but, valuable as this may be, they do not necessarily advance that science. Frank Douglas Stephens was one who broke through barriers and made such original observations that our understanding was advanced into new directions. He was a master of the patho-embryology of developmental processes in congenital abnormalities. In the areas of the urinary, genital and ano-rectal systems, he was the most prolific and significant contributor in the world. Read the full article from Durham Smith.

(excerpts from the National Library of Medicine)

Louise Schnaufer was born in 1925 in Towson, Maryland. She attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and graduated with her MD degree in 1951. She completed a surgical residency at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore in 1955, and a residency in pediatric surgery with Dr. C. Everett Koop, (who later served as U.S. Surgeon General). Dr. Schnaufer joined Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1960, and in 1963, she helped establish the first pediatric surgical unit at the hospital. She was also part of the pediatric staff at Union Memorial Hospital and Greater Baltimore Medical Center. Dr. Schnaufer to join the staff of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1971, where, with Dr. Koop, she performed a series of challenging operations to separate conjoined twins in the 1970s. In 2001 she traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda with the Doctors On Call for Service Foundation (DOCS), to train surgeons in her specialist skills.

Dr. Schnaufer was one of only three surgeons honored with the Arnold M. Salzberg Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The award recognizes outstanding mentorship of pediatric surgical trainees, and was given in 1999 to honor her commitment to the education of surgical trainees at Children’s Hospital. In 1992, the University of Pennsylvania honored her with the Residents’ Faculty Teaching Award, and that same year her alma mater, Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, presented her with its Alumnae Achievement Award. Dr. Schnaufer was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a surgical fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania commemorated her thirty years of service by establishing the Louise Schnaufer Pediatric Surgery Fellowship.

(From the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Hasbro Children’s Hospital and Alpert Medical School of Brown University)

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Frank G. DeLuca, MD on September 11, 2011. He was one of the 18 Founding Members of the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital for 36 years. He received diplomas from Brown University and the University of Bologna Medical School, and was an alumnus of Tufts University and New England Medical Center, where he trained under Dr. Orvar Swenson. Dr. DeLuca represented the highest ideals of clinician, teacher, investigator, and leader in academic pediatric surgery.

A Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Pediatrics at Brown, he was a core member of the surgical faculty of the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and was one of the prime movers in the establishment of Hasbro Children’s Hospital in 1994. He was instrumental in developing Pediatric Trauma and Critical Care in Rhode Island, and his role as educator reached the highest levels of accomplishment with the creation of the Brown University Pediatric Surgery Residency Program. His memory carries on in the Department of Surgery through the Frank G. DeLuca Distinguished Lectureship in Pediatric Surgical Sciences.

The Pediatric Surgery Division, the Department of Surgery, and many colleagues and friends in the community of Hasbro Children’s Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital extend their deepest condolences to Joyce and all of his children and grandchildren.

“Dr. Steichen was a pioneer in surgical stapling and was responsible for the innovation, design and execution of many of the surgical stapling procedures performed routinely today, such as the functional end-to-end anastomosis and the triple stapling techniques. He wrote and lectured extensively on the techniques of surgical stapling, both domestically and internationally. He authored or co-authored 18 books, 50 book chapters, three monographs and 125 articles for publication, and he served on five journal editorial boards. He completed 17 films, 10 of which were accepted to the American College of Surgeons Film Library. Steichen was internationally honored for his contribution in many forms including the Felicien M. Steichen Chair in Surgery at New York Medical College and the Felicien Steichen Prize for Bio-Technical Research given each year to a surgical researcher by the German Association of Surgery.”

Dr. Steichen was a long-time APSA member. At the request of the family, please direct any questions or specific queries regarding a memorial service to his son, Francois M. Steichen, , +1-203-461-5865. The memorial service is expected to take place in October in Larchmont.

(Published in The New York Times on July 29, 2011)

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague Dr. R. Peter Altman, the Rudolph N. Schullinger Professor Emeritus of Pediatric Surgery (in Surgery and Pediatrics) at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. A beloved member of the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia community for more than thirty years, Dr. Altman made many important contributions to the care of infants and children. During his extraordinary career, he held several leadership positions, including Physician-in-Chief for the New York-Presbyterian Children’s Health System and Surgeon-in-Chief at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. He played a major role in the development of Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, from conceptualization to completion and beyond. A distinguished clinician and researcher, he introduced a surgical technique to correct the fatal congenital liver condition biliary atresia, helping numerous children live into adulthood. A leader in pediatric surgical education, he mentored scores of fellows who went on to have distinguished careers. We remember Dr. Altman for his wry wit and his serious commitment to helping children and their families. Our heartfelt condolences are extended to his wife, Hanna; sons Robert and James; four grandchildren; sister, Linda; and the entire Altman family.

(From Phoenix Children’s Hospital)

It is with deep sadness that we share with you the passing of APSA Charter Member, Daniel T. Cloud, Jr., MD.

Following an extensive career in the military, which began during World War II, the Cloud’s moved their young family to Phoenix on the Fourth of July, 1955, where Dr. Cloud became the first pediatric surgeon in the state. He loved being a doctor and spent countless hours caring for children. Dr. Cloud was the first Arizonan to serve as president of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Cloud knew there was a need for a children’s hospital in Phoenix, and dreamed of establishing one. In 1983, his dream came true.

Dr. Cloud was responsible for establishing Phoenix Children’s Hospital as an accredited independent hospital, and later arranging for the incorporation of the Good Sam NICU into Phoenix Children’s Hospital. He convinced Good Samaritan CEO Steve Morris that the children’s hospital should be independent from Good Samaritan, and negotiated with them to finally relinquish control over their pediatric beds.

Dr. Cloud served as the Founding President of Phoenix Children’s Hospital from 1983 until his retirement in December of 1990. He passed away on July 6, 2010, only one month before his 85th birthday.

Dr. Cloud is survived by his wife, Virginia; two daughters, one son, and grandchildren. He will be missed by many friends, co-workers, and former patients.

(From Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario)

It’s hard to imagine Ottawa without the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. But in the decade leading up to CHEO’s opening in 1974, many skeptics dismissed the grassroots movement to create a freestanding pediatric hospital in the region.

“Ottawa just isn’t large enough for such accommodations,” one physician told the Citizen in 1969. Dr. Stanley Mercer paid little attention. He was among a dozen advocates who fought to get CHEO established. Mercer went on to serve as the hospital’s founding chief of surgery. Until his retirement in 1989, he recruited a generation of doctors who helped earn the hospital an international reputation.

The creation of CHEO meant parents in this region no longer had to take their children to Toronto or Montreal for specialized care, a choice that had only been available to wealthy families.

Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Mercer emigrated to Canada in 1953 and quickly won a fellowship in pediatric surgery at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. The field was so new that when Mercer moved to Ottawa’s Civic Hospital after finishing his training, he became the city’s only pediatric surgeon. In 1960, Mercer performed an emergency operation on June Runtz’s son, who was just two days old. Within weeks, three more surgeries followed. Throughout that difficult time, Mercer remained an unwavering source of support, Runtz recalled.

“Dr. Mercer had left word at the hospital that when my husband and I visited our son, they were to call him at home if he wasn’t in the hospital and he would come and see us,” Runtz wrote in a letter to the Citizen. “He also gave us his home phone number and told us to call any time if we needed to talk to him. … Unfortunately, our son died suddenly when he was 16 months old. Dr. Mercer was in Montreal, but when he heard of the death he wrote to us expressing the loss he felt along with us.” Mercer’s colleagues say such dedication was typical, but also a necessity, given that he was, in effect, a one-man department. His wife and three sons learned to adapt to his demanding workload.

“The only time he could take a real break was if we went out of the city and one of the adult (patients’) surgeons would agree to cover for him,” said Sylvia Mercer. “We never thought that was odd. We did have family time, for sure, but we would never say, ‘A week from Friday, we’re going to do this.’ ”

The couple’s youngest son, Brian, remembers twice visiting the Civic as a boy. The first time, he fell off a chair and hurt his head, prompting his father to take him to the emergency room, where he stitched up his son’s wound. The second time, Mercer gave his son a tour of the operating room to put Brian at ease before he was to have his tonsils removed. How Mercer treated his own children — and other young patients at the Civic — foreshadowed his philosophy for the hospital he would help create. How can you be stuffy with small children? They’ll pee over you or vomit on you,” Mercer once told a reporter. “You can’t stay pompous for very long with children. They won’t let you.”

Shirley Post worked closely with Mercer during the decade-long campaign to establish CHEO. She later served as the hospital’s first director of nursing. “Stanley believed that we should treat all children as if they were our own children,” said Post, who co-chaired the Citizen’s Committee on Children, which lobbied for the hospital’s creation.

Post remembers Mercer as an early supporter, who barnstormed through town halls and church basements to raise money. In 1966, the Ontario government announced $24 million for CHEO’s construction, but that amount was eventually cut to $18 million, which nearly derailed the project, said Post. “It hurt so much when it got cut back because it meant we had to cut a lot of outpatient services. But at a meeting one night, Dr. Mercer said, ‘We’ve decided it would better, if we couldn’t have a Cadillac, to have a Volkswagen.’”

For three years leading up to CHEO’s official opening, Mercer juggled his surgical duties at the Civic while attending nightly meetings of the five-member committee that oversaw every detail of the hospital’s design. “I think that hospital got redesigned three times,” said Post, a committee member.

In the years after CHEO opened its doors, Mercer played a key role in recruiting young surgeons. One of them was Dr. Juan Bass, now the hospital’s acting chief of general surgery. Bass recalled how Mercer, as president of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons in the 1980s, conducted a survey that determined the country faced a shortage of pediatric specialists. He then devoted himself to establishing a training program for pediatric surgery at CHEO, one of only four in the country at the time. Said Bass: “One thing he said that I never forget: ‘You have to remember that the hospital is not made out of bricks, it’s made out of the people who work inside.’”

Mercer died in his sleep on Oct. 29 at his Ottawa home. He was 86.

Original article by: Pauline Tam, The Ottawa Citizen November 7, 2010; Photograph by: Paul Latour, The Ottawa Citizen

Dr. Loyd Schultz, who pioneered pediatric surgery in Nebraska, was not one to let a sick baby suffer, even if that baby was a lowland gorilla from Henry Doorly Zoo.

Risking serious professional consequences, Schultz operated successfully on the baby gorilla at the then-Children’s Memorial Hospital. He did so at the request of the zoo staff, and apparently without getting the hospital’s OK. Son Dr. Mark Schultz of Austin, Texas, explained: “His reasoning (was) that a baby is a baby.” The procedure was a success and the gorilla infant was saved. Gorilla physiology is very similar to that of infant homo sapiens.

“Dad was sanctioned severely for a time over the incident — a bit of an embarrassment for Children’s if it were to get out — but he knew the career risks involved in being caught and went ahead anyway. This was his nature.”

Dr. Loyd Raymond Schultz died Saturday at the Omaha home he shared with his wife, Shirley Ann, who survives her husband. The 81-year-old retired surgeon died of cancer, said Mark Schultz.

In 1962, Loyd Schultz became Nebraska’s first pediatric surgeon. Schultz practiced at Children’s and the Nebraska Medical Center. He also taught at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University School of Medicine, his family said.

Schultz graduated from Norfolk High School in 1946, served two years in the Marine Corps, attended the former Norfolk Junior College in 1948 and entered the University of Oregon in 1949.

In 1951, he began school at UNMC. After graduation in 1955, he trained as a surgeon at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle and did a pediatric surgery fellowship in 1960 at Ohio State University. He returned to Omaha in 1962 and set up practice as Nebraska’s first pediatric surgeon.

“I came in cold. Nobody here was doing pediatric surgery. Nobody had even heard of pediatric surgery,” Schultz in an 2007 video interview when Children’s honored him as a Pediatric Legend.

“It took two weeks for him to even get a patient and then he didn’t get paid,” said Mark Schultz. Loyd Schultz founded Pediatric Surgery Inc., which is still in business. He retired from practice in 1998.

Besides his wife and son, other survivors include daughters Penny Kenyon of Omaha and DeAnn Hiskey of St. Marys, Ohio; sons Dr. Kirk Schultz of Vancouver, British Columbia, Robert Schultz of Omaha and James Schultz of Fort Collins, Colo.; brothers Harlan Schultz of Yakima, Wash., and Glen Schultz of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; sister Evelyn Kleinsasser of Alachua, Fla.; and 10 grandchildren. (Adapted from an obituary in the World-Herald.)

Larry Ellsworth Hayes was born and raised in Kansas. Larry attended McPherson High School where he was a decorated Eagle Scout, athlete, and biology enthusiast. Larry earned a BS in chemistry and biology from McPherson College and went on to complete a Medical Degree at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Dr. Hayes interned in Portland, Oregon and served as a doctor in the United States Army in Germany during the Vietnam War. Larry completed a four-year Surgery Residency at Swedish Hospital, Seattle. It was during this time that he became interested in working with children and decided to specialize in pediatric surgery and participated in a Pediatric Surgical Fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit.

Dr. Hayes practiced Pediatric Surgery in San Jose, California for nearly thirty years. He had a tremendous career exemplified by his consecutive terms as President of the Medical Staff and Chief of Surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital. Dr. Hayes was certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Surgery. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Surgical Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and member of the American Pediatric Surgical Association.

Larry loved traveling, scuba diving, sailing, piloting airplanes, cooking, watching sporting events, and talking politics. He retired in 1994, and spent much of his time in Costa Rica. Larry had moved to Thailand where he lived for a year before he passed away. He is survived by his mother, sister, children, many grandchildren, and nephews.

Dr Besser grew up in the Cleveland area. A graduate of Ohio State University (B.S. 1957) and the Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia (M.D. 1961), he trained in surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Cleveland from 1961 – 1967. He served in the armed forces during his training as captain in at the Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah from 1963 – 1965. He then practiced in the Chicago area on the staffs of Lutheran General, Northwest Suburban and Cook County Hospitals. He trained in pediatric surgery under Ovar Swenson at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago in 1972. He then practiced at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and later in private practice in Las Vegas before moving to Macon.

He is remembered as having exacting professional standards and being devoted to the art and craft of pediatric surgery. Even in difficult situations, he held firm, motivated to always benefit his patients and families.

He was laid to rest at the Sha’arey Israel Cemetery in Macon, Rabbi Rachel Bat-Or officiating. He is survived by his wife of 50 years Carol; his brother Howard and his wife Barbara; his son Daniel and his wife Anne Cucchiara-Besser; his son David; and his daughter Deborah Oliner and her husband Henry. He had three grandchildren: Russell and Victoria Cucchiara-Besser and Natalie Oliner.