November 2011

William F. Denny MD, internal medicine  d. September 10, age 84.  Med sch: Oklahoma ‘53. I-Geo Washington (DC), R-Oklahoma. 54-57.  Founding faculty at the UA College of Medicine.  Founded first medical residency at the Tucson. VA. Never a PCMS Member. 

Raymond Grossman MD, Family Practice, Neurology d. Oct. 17 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, age 83.  Med sch. Zurich ’58.  I-St. Joseph’s Phoenix ’59.  R. Montreal Neurological Institute ’61, Arizona ’69-71. Practiced in Douglas (he was president of the Cochise County Medical Society 1961-1969) and Tucson. He fully retired in 2004.  PCMS Member 1970-2011.

Myrna F. Alfred, a nurse who graduated from Pima Community College, d. Oct. 8, age 89.    

Lily May Spaulding RN, who worked as a nurse in Vermont, Safford and at TMC and Tucson General, d. Oct. 7, age 90.

Catherine Evon Wierzbicki RN, a nurse in Baltimore, Detroit and Tucson (NW Medical Center and UMC), d. Oct. 26, age 68.

Kristin L. Buyer RN, CCU nurse who met her husband, Richard Buyer MD, when caring for one of his patients, d. recently, age 47.

Other: Therese Freundlich, wife of Irwin Freundlich MD, d. Oct. 10, age 74.  Rolden Heath, pharmacist in Lake Havasu and Tucson (Commonworld), d. Oct 10, age 77.  Margaret Turner Guthkelch, wife of Norman Guthkelch MD, d. Nov. 1.

October 2011

William F. Denny MD, internal medicine  d. September 10, age 84.  Med sch: Oklahoma ‘53. I-Geo Washington (DC), R-Oklahoma. 54-57.  Founding faculty at the UA College of Medicine.  Founded first medical residency at the Tucson. VA. Never a PCMS Member. 

Hideo Pail Kageyama MD, d. in Tucson Sept. 27.  Seems to have practiced in LA and retired here.

L. Bruce Mills MD, dermatologist who retired to Tucson from Honolulu, died in Palm Springs, August 15.

Arlene J. Cumberland RN, a nurse for 41 years who spent many years in the service and retired a colonel, d. Sept. 8, age 94.    

Mildred M. Van Karsen RN, a nurse for 48 years, d. Sept. 15, age 98

Helen Elizabeth Hadley RN. Who worked at St. Joseph’s for 30 years, d. Aug 23, age 83.

Marjorie Wilson RN, graduated from St. Mary’s Nursing School in Tucson and worked for St. Mary’s and for Dr. Robert Bates, died September 23, age 86.

Evelyn Morris, nurse, who retired here after a career in New Jersey, d. September 30, age 88.

Other: Patricia Anne Henely, medical assistant who fought cancer four times, d. Sept. 20, age 60.  Linda Lea Gerhart, who had a 30-year career in radiology here, d. Sept. 25 age 62.  George Bernard Olsen, UA professor of immunology and microbiology for 24 years, d. September 25, age 79.  Andrew David Guy, founder of Dialysis Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Southwest Kidney Institute, d. September 25, age 76.  Charlotte Pedersen, mother-in-law of PCMS Services Director Bill Fearneyhough, died October 1, age 85.  Pearl Leib, mother of Marc Leib MD, d. October 8, age 84.  The father of Alan Rogers MD died in Texas October 8.

September 2011

Cynthia R. Ogden MD, internal medicine (IPC Hospitalist), d. May 9, age 47.  Med sch: Oregon ‘92. R-Santa Barbara Cottage Hosp. 92-95.  Licensed in AZ 2002.  Never a PCMS Member. 

Jack E. Thompson MD, anesthesiology, d. from Alzheimer’s complications July 13, age 85.  Med sch: Marquette. I-Seaside Memorial, Long Beach CA.  R-Lahey Clinic, Boston.  Practiced in Mountain View, CA 42 years.  Never a PCMS member.

Douglas Wegner MD, orthopedic surgeon, died while running in Sabino Canyon, age 53.  MIT engineer before going to medical school at Brown. I/R: Yale.  Fellowship Indiana Hand Center.  Joined faculty at the University of Kentucky for two years before joining Tucson orthopedic Institute in 1997.  Never a PCMS member.

Loren Fritz Taylor MD, anesthesiology, d. from acute leukemia June 9, age 82.  Med sch: Indiana ’55.  Moved to Tucson in 1961.  Graduated from law school here in 1967.  Joined the University of Kansas faculty and worked for HEW.  Moved back to Tucson in 1975 and helped found Old Pueblo Anesthesiology.  PCMS Member 1961-1968, 1974-1992.

Gregorio Samoy MD, pediatrician, d. Aug. 12, age 82.  Med Sch: Manilla Central University ’55.  R-Beth Israel, NYC. F-St. Jude’s, Memphis.  Worked at El Rio 1978-1997.  PCMS Member 1999-2011.

Thomas P. McWilliams, Jr. MD, general practitioner, d. Aug 13, age 91.  Dr. Klein located him in Phoenix, in 1968 at 444 W. Osborn.  There is also an osteopathic physician, Thomas Pryce McWilliams DO,.  Med Sch: Des Moines, ’43, but he would have been 23 when he started practice.  Who ever this doctor was, he is the second of four generations of rural family doctors and practiced until 1985.  Never a PCMS member. 

Findlay Ewing Russell MD, neurosurgeon, toxicologist, d. Aug 21, age 91.  Med sch: Loma Linda ’52.  Started as a neurosurgeon but wounds suffered as a medic on Okinawa soon limited his surgery and he became a world renowned toxicologist.  A Fulbright scholar, he spent the last 15 years in the school of pharmacology at the University of Arizona.  Never a PCMS member.

William Robert Montgomery Houston MD, ophthalmology, d. August 24, age 88.  Med sch: Western Reserve ’48.  I- Methodist Hospital of Brooklyn.  R-New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.  Practiced more than 40 years in Mansfield, Ohio.  Wintered in Tucson.  Never a PCMS member.

Henry Miller MD, Family Practice & Addiction Medicine, d. September 9, age 98.  Med school: Glasgow & Lausange. I- Mary Immaculate, Jamaica NY. US Army, D-Day.  Family medicine in Jamaica.  1987 moved to Santa Fe to practice addiction medicine. Never a PCMS member.

Richard B. O’Grady MD, ophthalmologist and eye surgeon, d. of stroke complications September 8, age 78.  Private practice in Glenview, IL while serving as chief of Eye Pathology at Northwestern and at Loyala-Stritch.  Professor of ocular pathology at the UA College of Medicine for 21 years.  No record of him being a PCMS member.

Norma Husted RN, who worked at the VA in Syracuse NY and retired to Tucson, She died in June 14, age 87. 

Virginia Hockens RN, BSN, who worked as a nurse in the Navy, at Stanford and with ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia, d May 13, age 84.

Juanita Mae Davisson RN, graduate of Mercy Hospital School for Nurses, who worked for St. Luke’s Hospital in Davenport, Iowa.  She moved to Tucson in 1979 after retirement.  He died June 29, age 93.

Susan C. Maish RN, who worked at TMC for 33 years, d. Aug. 3, age 56.

Becky Sue Earwood, nurse who was educated at Cuesta College, d. Aug 3, age 56.

Antoinette M. Findysz, nurse who graduated from St. Elizabeth’s in Chicago, d. Aug 7, age 82.

Rafaela Villanueva Ruiz, nurse who graduated from St. Mary’s school of nursing in Tucson and was selected by the Mayo Bros to work in Rochester, d. Aug 7, are 96.

Mary S. Rugg, a nurse who graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing and worked at Thomas Davis as well as a surgical nurse at Good Samaritan, d. Aug. 6, age 98.

Doris Piper White, a nurse who served in World War II, UA Student Health Services, and co-founded Medi-Quik, d. Aug 8, age 88.

Sophie J. Majesky RN, MSN, who worked at St. Mary’s and was the first head surgical nurse at St. Joseph’s, d. Aug. 12, age 89.

Ellen Theresa Miller RN, who worked at Northwest Hospital, d. Aug 2, age 49.

Helen N. Kisthardt RN, d. August 12, age 98.

Dorothy Anna RN, who graduated from St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in 1945 and worked as a public health nurse in Pennsylvania, d. Aug. 13, age 83.

Other: Lt Col. Roy D. Smith, who served in the US Army Nurses Corps, retiring in 1973, d. June 5, age 84.  Ann Fee, a nurse and widow of Wesley Fee MD, d. June 20, age 86.  Billey E. McCarty, wife of Tucson cardiologist Richard J. McCarty MD, d. July 14, age 90.  Barbara Joy Macbeth, widow of L. Craig Macbeth MD, d. July 31, age 85.

June 2011

Cynthia R. Ogden MD, internal medicine (IPC Hospitalist), d. May 9, age 47.  Med sch: Oregon ‘92. R-Santa Barbara Cottage Hosp. 92-95.  Licensed in AZ 2002.  Never a PCMS Member. 

Richard L. Field MD, GP, Radiology, d. May 21, age 80.  Med sch: Tufts ’59.  I-Dartmouth.  Private practice in Maine 1962-1969.  Radiology internship and practiced in Maine until 1984.  Moved to Tucson in 1992.  Never a PCMS member.

Eleanor Schroff RN, obtained her RN in 1942 and came to Tucson in 1951.  She worked at St. Mary’s for 25 years and retired in 1986.  She died in May, age 90 or 91. 

Patricia Wagner RN, obtained her RN from St. Agnes School of Nursing (Fond du Lac, WI) and worked at St. Mary’s and TMC, d. May 9, age 94.

Eleanor Hanson RN, graduate of Kansas Wesleyan in nursing, she came to Tucson in 1967 and began work at Devon Gables and retired in 1989 as director of nursing, d. May 9 of cancer, age 74.

Doris Elaine Johnson LPN, d. May 9, age 81. 

Margaret Lohse Henry RN, Capt Army Nurse Corps 1941-1946 and moved to Tucson soon thereafter, d. May 11, age 96.

Olga H. Jordan RN, d. in Peoria, AZ May 9, age 98.

Linda Peart Sullenger RN, operating room nurse all over the US and Saudi Arabia, d. May 21, age 68.

Mary Anne (Dolly) Burr RN, flight nurse in WWII and married to Sherwood Burr MD, d. May 28, age 93.

Lucille B. Hayes RN, a resident of Tucson since 1978, d. May 31, age 77.

Joyce Aline Myers RN, who spent her career in pediatrics, d. June 7, age 72

Other: Julie Ann Fernando, physical therapist and daughter of Manuel Fernando MD, d. May 1, age 48.   Esther de la Torre Elias, mother of Laura Elias de la Torre MD, d. May 20.  Jean Ann Cipriani, administrative director UMC pathology department for 25 years, d. May 18.  Alice Tweed Peak DDS, one of two women dentists serving in the military during WWII, d. April 25, age 90.  Alexandra Kollar Schorsch, daughter of Edward Kollar MD and wife of John Schorsch MD, d. May 7, age 60. 

May 2011

William A. Butcher MD, internal medicine, d. April 5, one day short of his 90th birthday.  Med sch: Penn 1945. I-Univ of Chicago.  Two years at Mayo Clinic. Opened practice at 1619 N. Tucson Blvd in 1952.  He served on numerous committees and was a delegate to ArMA (1956-1959).  Member 1952-1991.

Samuel R. Joseph MD, surgery, d. May 2, age 85.  He decided to become a physician while serving as a Seabee during World War II.  He used the GI Bill to attend Ohio University and St. Louis School of Medicine.  I/R St Louis City Hospital.  He came to Tucson in 1961 and began work as chief of surgery at the old county hospital.  Member 1961-1989.

Esther Lopez Foust LPN, graduate of St. Mary’s School of Nursing worked at Pima County Hospital for 20 years, d. April 8, age 87.

Oran James (Jim) Burris Jr, scrub nurse at St. Mary’s for 17 years, d. April 12, age 78.

Edna R. Hoffman RN, obtained her RN from Baylor; worked in Phoenix hospitals and as a police nurse until she became a police officer, becoming a sergeant in charge of the sex crimes unit; retired in Tucson in 1988 and d. April 15, age 87.

Kathleen Goggins, who moved to Tucson from Minnesota at age 17 to attend and graduate from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, d. April 23, age 73.

Mary Beth Medo RN, Air Force nurse who retired a Lt. Col., died April 26, age 57.

Lois Baun, pharmacist, d. in May, age 89.  Graduated from University of South Dakota in 1943.  Practiced and taught pharmacy until 1950, married, had children.  She and her husband opened a pharmacy in 1956.  She moved to Tucson and worked as a pharmacist at the University, retiring in 1983.

Other: William Louis Orient, father of Jane Orient MD, died on his 90th birthday, 4/29/11. Sue Eazer, mother of Center for Neurosciences CEO Ted Eazer, d. April 24, age 81.  Marguerite Labau Houston, wife of William Houston MD, d. April 24, age 78.