DukeMed Alumni News
Summer 2008

Obituaries:

Timothy M. Browder, MD'82, of Boston, Mass. , died March 3, 2008, of an apparent heart attack. He was 51. Browder was born and raised in Charlotte, N.C., where he was ranked number one academically in the state for both math and biology at East Mecklenburg High School . Browder was a National Merit Scholarship Award Winner and was awarded the Morehead Scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill. He also received the Carswell Scholarship to Wake Forest University. Browder was awarded a National Health Scholarship and earned his medical degree in 1982 at Duke. He completed his residency at Texas Children's Hospital in pediatric medicine and pediatric hematology/oncology. He conducted research at the National Institutes of Health for four years, then accepted a position as an assistant professor in pediatric hematology-oncology at Children's Hospital-Harvard Medical School, as well as working at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2000 Browder co-wrote “Antiangiogenic Scheduling of Chemotherapy Improves Efficacy Against Experimental Drug Resistant Cancer,” which appeared in the scientific journal Cancer Research and is considered one of several landmark publications in the study of angiogenesis. He is survived by his mother, Carlotta Browder of Charlotte, two sisters, a brother, two brothers-in-law, three nieces, and two nephews.

Bertram W. Coffer, MD, HS'69-'71, died April 10, 2008, at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. He was 66. A native of Sanford , he spent the last 33 years of his career at Rex Hospital . He graduated from North Carolina State University in 1964 and the UNC School of Medicine in 1969. He completed a surgical residency at Duke from 1969 to 1971 as well as an anesthesia residency at UNC in 1975. He began practicing in 1975 when he joined Raleigh Anesthesia Associates, which he eventually incorporated and developed into Critical Health Systems. He served as CEO from 1975 to 1996. Coffer had a vision for the advancement of anesthesiology into new areas such as intensive care, critical care, pain management, and total patient care. He was a member of numerous boards, including the Rex Hospital Executive Committee and the Ravenscroft Board of Directors. He was also president of the Wake County Medical Society in 1986. In 1974 he worked with Project Hope at the University of West Indies in Jamaica. During the Vietnam War era he was commissioned as a lieutenant commander and was stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida as an anesthesiologist. He also had an active role in politics and public policy. Many elected officials, including U.S. senators and members of Congress, often sought his advice. Coffer is survived by his wife of 42 years, Jeanne Coffer; two daughters, Dr. Natalie Coffer and Holly Coffer Fuller; one son, Bertram Coffer Jr.; two sisters, Marilyn Lambe and Helen Gupton; one brother, Newlin Coffer; and three grandchildren, Dalton , Bailey, and Lindsay Coffer. He was predeceased by a sister, Carol Thompson.

Howard F. Davis, Jr., MD, HS'74-'79, died Dec. 30, 2007, after a long battle with Huntington's disease. He was 63. Born in Pulaski , Tenn. , he attended Louisiana State University and Louisiana State University Medical School . After an internship, a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, and an orthopedic surgery residency at Duke, he practiced medicine in Houston , Texas , until his retirement. He moved to Corpus Christi , Texas , in 1989 and was an active volunteer at the Texas State Aquarium from 1990 to 1994. He is survived by his wife, Beth; two sons and a daughter and their families.

Charles M. Earley, Jr., MD'53, of Virginia Beach , Va. , died May 13, 2008, after a short fight with cancer. He was 80. Born in Gates County , N.C. , he grew up in Norfolk, Va., received a medical degree from Duke University , and completed training at the Medical College of Virginia and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . He served as a general surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. He moved to Virginia Beach in 1964 and was a co-founder and senior partner of Virginia Beach Surgery, where he remained until retiring in 1993. Earley was an Eagle Scout, and while a Major in the Air Force he participated in Project Mercury Recovery Force. His community activities also included serving as a member of Virginia Beach General Hospital 's founding group of physicians and as past president of the Virginia Beach Medical Society, the Virginia Beach Unit of the American Cancer Society, and the Humera Society. He also served on the boards of Seaboard Savings & Loan, Life Savings Bank, and BB&T. A sports enthusiast and member of the Iron Dukes, he was an avid follower of Duke basketball and the New York Yankees. He is survived by his wife of more than 57 years, Gloria Ripley Earley; sister, Edla Trnka of Basel, Switzerland; uncle, Arthur Earley of Westfield, N.Y.; children, Laura Ezell and husband Rick, Susan Rohrer and husband Mark, Charles M. Earley III and wife Christina, and Sara Jane Ebersole and husband Samuel; and nine grandchildren.

Michael W. Gallagher, MD, HS'68-'69, died Jan. 28, 2008, at his home in Columbus, Ohio, surrounded by his family. He was 64. Gallagher was a private-practice cardio-thoracic surgeon in Houston for 25 years, retiring in 2000. He graduated from Columbus Academy in 1961; Miami ( Ohio ) University in 1965; and the Medical College of Ohio State University in 1968. Gallagher did his post-graduate training at Duke and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston , Texas . He is survived by his wife, Mary Beth Shearer Gallagher; children, John, Karen, Faber, Mark, Joshua, Jessica, Adam, and Kathryn, and their respective spouses; 11 grandchildren; three sisters; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Harold Hawfield, MD'43, BS'44 (medicine), died Jan. 14, 2008, at his home in Edgewater , Md. , after a lengthy illness. He was 86. Born in Union County , N.C. , he received his medical degree from Duke in 1943. He was a general surgeon for 25 years then became the first medical director of Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. He had several medical research reports published during his medical career. He served as secretary-treasurer and vice chairman of the Department of General Surgery. He was also a member of the medical board of the Washington Hospital Center and the Children's Hospital and president of the medical and dental staff at Washington Hospital Center in 1974. Hawfield served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a captain in the Medical Corps. He served on the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians in 1987 and was a member of the American Medical Association, Medical Society of the District of Columbia , Osler Medical Society, Hippocrates-Galen Medical Society, Clinico-Pathologic Society, and American Academy of Medical Directors. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jane Bostwick Hawfield. He is survived by his second wife, Isolde M. Hawfield; two sons, Timothy Hawfield of Waynesburg , Pa. , and Michael Hawfield of Homer, Alaska; one daughter, Molly Gordon of Atlantic Beach, Fla.; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Noel C. Hunt III, MD, HS'62-'63, '66-'68, died May 15 at his home in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was 70. Hunt received his bachelor's and medical degrees from Vanderbilt University in Nashville . He served medical residencies at Vanderbilt and Duke University Medical Center where he completed his cardiology fellowship. He was a founding member of the Chattanooga Heart Institute. Hunt was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Survivors are his wife, Trisha Jolley Hunt; three children Noel McReynolds Hunt T'85 and his wife Stephanie Wood Hunt, T'85; Peter and his wife Kathleen; and Claire and husband Wyatt; a brother, William; stepdaughters Wendi and Aimee; 10 grandchildren; and one niece.

Herbert A. King, MD'43, HS'43-'49, of Orlando, Fla., died Dec. 25, 2008, from natural causes under hospice care. He was 90. Born in Peabody, Mass., he earned a bachelor's degree in science in 1939 at the University of Richmond and went on to graduate from the Duke University School of Medicine. He finished first in his class and belonged to Alpha Omega Alpha. After completing his residency at Duke, he went on to study allergy and hematology, and then served two years in the U.S. Army as a doctor at Camp McCoy , a training camp in Wisconsin . After teaching other medical students and researching his field, King started his own practice in Daytona Beach , Fla. , in 1949. Years later he joined in practice with Dr. R.G. Lacsamana, and after nearly 50 years in medicine, he retired in 1997 at age 80. He also held positions in the medical community, including chief of Halifax Hospital medical staff, president of the Volusia County Medical Society, president of the Volusia County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and chief of the EKG department at Halifax Hospital . He is survived by his wife Virginia; his son Dr. Arthur King of Southern Pines, N.C.; stepson John Ariko, Jr., of Orlando; and several grandchildren. Another son, Lawrence Ballou King, died last year.

Robert W. Leyen, MD, HS'83-'89, '90, died April 14, 2008, in Gig Harbor, Wash. He was 56. A native of Nashville , Tenn. , he graduated cum laude in 1969 from Webb School of Knoxville, where he was All Mid-South Football and Basketball as well as a key member of the school's champion track team. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1973 from Yale University. As defensive tackle, Robert was All Ivy for two consecutive years. Following graduation he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. After being traded to the Detroit Lions, he chose to pursue a medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis , where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha in 1977. He completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Alabama Birmingham in 1978 and then returned home to east Tennessee to practice emergency medicine. The next seven years were spent at Duke, where he completed general surgery and orthopedic surgery residencies and a sports medicine fellowship. For the past 18 years Leyen practiced orthopedic surgery in Tacoma and Olympia , Wash. For 30 years he was team physician and player with the Harvard Old Boys Business School Rugby Football Club. He actively competed in three-day equestrian eventing in Area VII and mentored many young riders. He was an avid duck hunter and skier and a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School and Outward Bound. During this past year he especially enjoyed working with veterans and soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center , where he volunteered his time through the Red Cross. Leyen is survived by his wife of 32 years, Jennifer, his daughter, Elizabeth, and his cousins, Drs. Erich and Ben Wouters.

Sidney Olansky, HS'46-'48, MD'56, of Avondale Estates, Ga., died Dec. 28, 2007. He was 93. A first-generation American, he was born to Ukrainian parents in Boston in 1914 and grew up there until the family moved to New York so he could attend New York University. He attended medical school in Scotland , finishing and returning to the United States as World War II was beginning in Europe . After an internship, he entered the U.S. Public Health Service, where he began his career in clinical research. He attended Duke University for his residency in dermatology and eventually became an associate professor. In 1959 Olansky went to Atlanta, Ga., and became the first professor of dermatology at Emory University . He authored or co-authored more than 140 papers on dermatology. In 1981 he was named emeritus professor of dermatology at Emory and joined two sons in private practice in dermatology. He continued to practice until his 92 nd birthday and continued to teach during much of his second career. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marian Olansky, HS'56 ; daughter Leann Olansky; son, Alan Olansky and his wife Dianne; son, David Olansky and his wife Brenda; son, Ad Olansky; and grandchildren, Charles Cope, Anna Olansky, and Adam Olansky.

Athos Ottolenghi, MD, HS'87 , a Duke professor of pharmacology for 40 years, died at Duke Hospital on Dec. 23, 2007, after a long illness. He was 84. Ottolenghi grew up in Pavia , Italy , and graduated from the University of Pavia in 1946 with a laureate in medicine. He became a doctor in 1948. He was the recipient of the first Fulbright Fellowship in pharmacology in 1953 and was a professor of pharmacology at Duke from 1953-1993 when he became professor emeritus. Ottolenghi is survived by his wife of 54 years, Anna; and sons Hugo and Les, T'84.

Galen W. Quinn, DDS, MS, a former chief and professor of the Division of Orthodontics in the Department of Surgery at Duke and a pioneer in the area of cleft palate surgery, died Jan. 22, 2008. He was 85. Quinn started his career as a country school teacher before being called to service in World War II as a member of the South Dakota National Guard. He served in North Africa and Italy , then returned to attend dental school at Creighton University in Omaha , Neb. , where he eventually became dean of the School of Dentistry . He came to Duke in 1958 and was one of the pioneers in the fields of cleft palate reconstruction and airway management. He lectured internationally on those subjects. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Virginia. He is survived by his wife Patricia and eight children—Catherine, Margaret, Galen, Stephen, Marilyn, Maryalice , Virginia , and Angela—19 grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

John G. Ramsbottom, MD'44, died Dec. 23, 2007, at the age of 88. He was born in Lawrence , Mass. , and moved to the South when he was 7. Ramsbottom graduated from Wofford College in Spartanburg , S.C. , in 1940 and from the Duke University School of Medicine in 1944. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II. Ramsbottom was in private practice in Spartanburg from 1948 to 1975 and in North Myrtle Beach , S.C. , from 1975 to 2001. He was a charter member of the American Academy of Family Practice and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, as well as a past member of both the Spartanburg County Medical Society and the Horry County Medical Society. He built the Lou-Gar Motel in the Windy Hill section of North Myrtle Beach in 1967, and after 31 years in Spartanburg , relocated to Myrtle Beach in 1975. In 1982 he sold the motel and concentrated on his medical practice, the North Myrtle Beach Family Practice Center, which he and his son John Jr. shared. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Louise S. Ramsbottom; sons John Jr. and James; and three grandchildren.

Bernard L. “Barney” Rhodes, BS'42 (medicine), MD'44, DC-Century, of Rutherford, Calif., died March 31, 2008. He was 87. Rhodes grew up in rural Live Oak, Fla. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke in 1942 followed by his medical degree in 1944. He married Ivabelle “Belle” Bargerhuff that same year. Belle passed away in 2007. Rhodes served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1950 and finished his residency in dermatology in 1952 at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). He then began practicing medicine in the San Francisco Bay area. He also served as an assistant professor in dermatology at UCSF until 1975. During that time he began a career with Kaiser Permanente, where he held numerous positions including chief of dermatology, chairman of the executive committee, vice president of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and several others. He served on numerous Kaiser boards until his retirement in 1986.

John G. Sellers Sr., T'39, MD'43, died Oct. 30, 2007, at his home in Portsmouth , Va. He was 89. After receiving undergraduate and medical degrees, Sellers served as an officer in World War II in the Navy Medical Corps. During his years of private practice in otolaryngology he served as president of the Virginia Ear, Nose, and Throat Society and was a member of the American Medical Association; the Academy of Ear, Nose, and Throat; and many other medical and non-medical associations. Sellers is survived by his wife of 64 years, Florence ; daughter Janie Sellers Tenney and her husband; sons John Jr., and James and their wives; 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Thomas, T'71.

Robert J. Sheridan, T'44, MD'48, DC, of Rocky Mount , N.C. , died of respiratory failure April 19, 2008, at Nash General Hospital after a brief illness. He was 85. Born January 27, 1923, in New York City , Sheridan received undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University . After serving as a physician in the U.S. Navy, he completed his pediatric residency at the University of Michigan and spent 50 years in pediatric practice. An active member of his local medical community, his service ranged from administering county-wide oral polio vaccines to serving on the Nash General Board of Directors to contributing time to local health clinics. Sheridan was predeceased by his wife of 46 years, Mary Trulah Peel Sheridan, N'48, and his brothers, Charles and Bill. He is survived by his four children, Mary Jo Walker, Becky Williford and her husband, John, Margaret Sheridan, and Bobby Sheridan and his wife, Kim; and three grandchildren, Mary Margaret, John, and Anna Williford. He is also survived by his dear friend, Peggy Skinner, and her family.

George E. Staehle, MD'48, DC, of South Orange , N.J. , died Feb. 4, 2008, at home at the age of 84. He was born in Newark and attended the Lawrenceville School —a preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12—before heading to Princeton University . He earned his medical degree from Duke in 1948. Staehle served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He practiced medicine for more than 30 years in South Orange , specializing in proctology. He was in practice with his father until his father's death in 1968 and continued practicing until he retired in 1984. He was predeceased by his son, Richard H. Staehle III, and his brother, Richard H. Staehle II. He is survived by his wife, Alma VanGilder Anderson; son Stuart; daughters Laura and Pamela; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Francis Robert “Bob” Walch, MD, HS'53-'55, Sarasota, Fla., died May 11, 2008 . He was 88. Born in Pittsburgh , he was a graduate of Penn State University , the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, and completed his residency in radiology at Duke University . He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and then as a medical officer in the Air Force during the Korean War, stationed in Alaska . He began his radiology practice in Winchester , Va. , and then moved to Florida in 1961. He was a partner in the practice of Wilson, Walch, and Fortner in Sarasota until his retirement in 1981. For 25 years Dr. Walch had a summer home at Lake Saint Clair in Winchester, Va., and commuted between there and Sarasota. He was an avid reader and expert on Civil War history. He also was a Rotarian, a Paul Harris Fellow, and a member of the AGR fraternity. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Doris Hayden Walch; three children, Rebecca, William and his wife Elizabeth, and Sam and his wife Mary; and two grandchildren, Sammy and Anna.

David F. Watson, MD'55, DC, died Dec. 25, 2007, at Muskogee Regional Medical Center in Muskogee , Okla. He was 76. Watson served his internship and residency in pediatrics at University Hospital in Ann Arbor , Mich. From 1957 to 1960 Watson served as a U.S. Army medical officer with the rank of captain. He, his first wife Ruth Haven, and their two small sons moved to Muskogee in 1961, where he joined a pediatric practice. Later marriages were to Fay Cantzler and Mary Caswell. Watson practiced in Muskogee for 40 years, retiring in 2001. He served as a physician humanitarian in Afghanistan , Vietnam , and Honduras with the Medical International Cooperation Organization. During retirement he worked as a volunteer at the Good Shepherd Clinic at St. Paul United Methodist Church. He is survived by his sons David and Robert, a grandson, and friend and companion Carole Cole.

Jack H. Welch, MD'40, of Fresno , Calif. , died Feb. 10, 2008, at the San Joaquin Gardens Health Care Center. He was 92. He was born in Columbus , Ohio , and completed his undergraduate degree at Ohio State University and his medical degree at Duke. His residency was interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a battalion surgeon with the famed Third Armored Spearhead Division. He saved many lives on the front lines in Europe during 1944 and 1945 and later published his war memoirs titled Battalion Surgeon WWII . Upon his return to the United States he completed his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit , Michigan. He married Elaine Childs and raised four children in southern California , where he established a successful internal medicine and cardiology practice. He retired in 1983 and moved to Fresno with his second wife, Alice. Welch was preceded in death by his first wife, Elaine, his second wife, Alice, and his youngest son Jonathon. He is survived by sons Michael and David, daughter Pamela, stepdaughter Christine, their spouses, and seven grandchildren.

Don Wolff, MD, HS'71-'72, died Dec. 12, 2007, at Hoots Memorial Hospital in Yadkinville , N.C. He was 79. He earned a medical degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and trained at Duke in radiation oncology. Wolf practiced medicine in North Carolina in Cape Hatteras , Washington , and Raleigh , as well as in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Shelby and Charleston, W.Va. He is survived by his daughter Martha, three sons—Frank, Max, and Sam—and five grandchildren.

Roy S. Wood, T'52, MD'59, of Front Royal, Va., died March 18, 2008, at home. He was 77. Wood attended Robert Lee High School in Jacksonville , Fla.; and earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke. He was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Manchester in the Korean War. He practiced pediatric medicine in Melbourne , Fla., from 1959-1976, and in Front Royal from 1976-1984. He is survived by Sandra, his wife of 36 years; son David and his wife; daughters Marilyn and Ginger and their husbands; and four grandchildren.

David M. Young, BS'58 (medicine), MD'59, HS'59-'60, died Feb. 2, 2008, at his home in Sullivan, Maine. He was 72. Born in Bluffton, Ind., he received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke. He completed an internship in pediatrics at Duke before devoting his career to science. He was a staff scientist in the Lab of Cellular Physiology and Metabolism at the National Institutes of Health and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University . He served his country for two years as a fellow in the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1965 he carried his work to Massachusetts General Hospital , where he became chief of the Laboratory of Physical Biochemistry. He was an associate professor of biological chemistry, associate chairman in the Division of Medical Sciences, and later chairman of the PhD program in cell biology at Harvard Medical School. He also served as a tutor in biochemical sciences at Harvard. In 1979 he went on to chair the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Florida and was a professor of medicine and pediatrics in the College of Medicine . He was a member of numerous professional societies and was elected a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. He made lasting contributions to science through his research on the structure and function of muscle proteins and nerve growth factor in wound healing. In recent years he was a pioneer in research on extremozymes. Young is survived by his wife, Lucia Patat Young; his children, Amy, David, and Allison; his granddaughters, Emma, Olivia, and Ahma; and his loyal cat. His eldest son, Peter, predeceased him in 2000.