Alumni

1939

Frank J. Schaberg died Feb. 18, 2014. While interning at Holy Name Hospital, he met a nurse, Helen Baenziger, who became his wife. As a captain in the Army Medical Corps stationed in Winchester, England, Dr. Schaberg participated in many evacuation rescue missions from France. During his 50-year practice of family medicine, he offered compassionate care to his many patients regardless of their ability to pay, gaining their respect and devotion. Preceded in death by his wife, Helen, he is survived by six children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

1940

Arnold J. Rawson died at his home in Sarasota, Fla., Jan. 28, 2014, at age 99. After he joined the U.S. Public Health Service during World War II, he was assigned to the Coast Guard as a medical officer for a flotilla of 12 landing craft infantry ships. After the war, he completed a residency in pathology at the University of Pennsylvania, earned a doctor of medical science degree, and was appointed instructor in pathology. He left Philadelphia for a few years to serve as chief of laboratories at Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va., but returned to the University of Pennsylvania, where he rose to the rank of full professor as he pursued his twin passions of teaching and research. He served as department chair before retiring in 1982. He wrote about 100 scientific papers dealing chiefly with cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. After retirement he spent a number of years at Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota, Fla., doing marine mammal pathology. His wife, Mirjam, preceded him in death. He is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

1945

J. Howland Auchincloss Jr., a retired pulmonologist and emeritus professor of medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, N.Y., died March 29, 2013. He was 93. Dr. Auchincloss served in the U.S. Army as ward physician in the tuberculosis service at the VA Hospital in Castle Point, N.Y., and then as ward physician on the medical service at the VA Hospital on Staten Island, N.Y. He was particularly proud, as he once put it on an alumni questionnaire, of “bringing modern pulmonary physiology from the Bellevue Chest Service (Columbia)” (where he trained) “to Syracuse.” He established the first intensive care unit at Upstate, treating occupational disease and studying exercise physiology. Among other clinical accomplishments, he devised a method to monitor the pulmonary toxicity of the anticancer agent bleomycin. The author of more than 100 published papers, he served for more than a decade as chairman of the Institutional Review Board, intent on protecting the rights of human subjects. His sense of social justice led him to be active during the civil rights movement. As a founder of the Syracuse chapter of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, he led a small group of doctors to Louisiana to provide care for embattled protestors. His hotel room was bombed, but he continued with his efforts. Outside of medicine he maintained many interests, including electronic music and historic keyboard instruments. Well into his 80s he constructed and played Renaissance lutes and designed a rowboat with forward-facing oars. Preceded in death by his wife, Sarah, he is survived by three daughters and seven grandchildren.

1946

Lillian Recant Ames died May 10, 2013, of congestive heart failure. She was an emeritus professor of medicine at Georgetown University, from which she earned an honorary doctorate. Dr. Ames previously taught for many years as a member of the faculty in the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. The author of more than 50 papers on diabetes and metabolism and internationally known for her work on the effects of fasting and starvation on metabolism, she also served for many years as chief of the diabetes research laboratory at the VA Hospital in Washington, D.C. Outside of medicine she maintained interests in painting, Tai Chi, and piano. Preceded in death by her husband, Joseph L. Ames, she is survived by a daughter, a stepdaughter, a stepson, three grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

Richard A. Bader, a noted pulmonologist, died April 18, 2013. He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in the Arctic during World War II, co-authoring a pioneering paper on the effects of cold on human metabolism. Dr. Bader worked for a time in the laboratory of Nobel laureates André Cournand’65 Hon. and Dickinson W. Richards Jr.’23 at the Bellevue Chest Service (Columbia). He later joined the faculty of Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he was named the first Horace W. Goldsmith Professor of Medicine and where he co-founded the first pulmonary function laboratory. His research focused on collagen vascular diseases, basic pulmonary physiology, and occupational lung disease. A Mortimer E. Bader and Richard A. Bader Professorship in Medicine was established at Mount Sinai in his name and that of his twin brother. Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth, a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

1947

Richard J. Stock, an eminent cardiologist and clinical professor emeritus of medicine at P&S who helped set the gold standard for clinical care, died Nov. 7, 2013. Dr. Stock established the first coronary care unit at Presbyterian Hospital, leading the way in patient care with a bold new vision of medicine’s potential to understand and treat acute myocardial infarction. As one of his scores of grateful patients once put it, “Dick Stock leaves no stone unturned; his care is complete, thorough, and humane.” By example he helped train generations of physicians. “Teaching keeps you on your toes,” he said. “The students are the heart and soul of the whole process.” Serving for many years on the P&S Admissions Committee, he had a hand in shaping the character of the student body. “Sheer brain power is not enough; there’s got to be the moral fiber,” he said in describing the ideal P&S student. Dean Lee Goldman saluted him on his 90th birthday as “the epitome of the P&S physician, the model MD that generations of clinicians have tried to live up to and emulate.” Dr. Stock always made time in his busy schedule to help support P&S and the Alumni Association, in which he held almost every leadership position, notably that of president from 1983 to 1985. He served for many years as a dedicated chairman of the P&S Annual Fund. In his capacity as P&S historian, he regaled audiences on countless occasions with painstakingly researched, eloquent, and witty reflections on the history of the medical school. His talks were always a much sought-after part of the program at alumni gatherings. Saluted with two named professorships at P&S, he was honored with a Conspicuous Service Award of the Columbia University Alumni Federation, the P&S Alumni Association Medical Medal of Service, and the P&S Alumni Gold Medal for Excellence in Clinical Medicine. A dynamo of energy in all his pursuits, he also was an accomplished sculptor, an impassioned horticulturist, and a skilled skier and tennis player. Preceded in death by his first wife, Eleanor, and his second wife, Martha, he is survived by a daughter and a son.

1948

Henry H. Bard, a retired general surgeon, died Jan. 3, 2014, at age 91. Dr. Bard served in the U.S. Army during World War II and as a Navy medical officer during the Korean conflict. He spent the greater part of his career on the surgical staff at Glen Cove Hospital, in Glen Cove, N.Y., now an affiliate of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. Survivors include his wife, Lucie, and a daughter.

Gordon L. Mathes died Feb. 22, 2014. He trained in urology at the University of Tennessee and practiced urology at Baptist Hospital in Memphis for 50 years. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and three children.

1949

John L. Paulus, a retired pediatrician, died March 30, 2013, at age 87. In his youth he was a state champion golfer and a trombone player. He served as a physician in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict. Pursuing a private practice for many years in Redlands, Calif., he also served as a doctor for the University of Redlands football team. Preceded in death by his first wife, Patricia, and his second wife, Judy, he is survived by his third wife, Jacqui, a daughter, three sons, two stepdaughters, 12 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

1950

Benjamin T. “Tom” Edwards, a retired general surgeon, died July 10, 2013, at age 88. Dr. Edwards served in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Germany and Turkey, and later served for a time as the sole physician caring for the staff of the defense early warning radar stations in Alaska, also tending to the medical needs of native communities. Dr. Edwards pursued a surgical practice in Pima County, Ariz., where he was affiliated with the county hospital. He is survived by a sister and brother.

1952

Wallace V. Epstein died Feb. 19, 2014. An accomplished trombonist, he performed with the student orchestra of the Juilliard School of Music and studied cello after his retirement. In 1957, after training in rheumatology at Presbyterian Hospital, he was recruited by the distinguished rheumatologist, Ephraim Engleman’37, to UCSF. Dr. Epstein is survived by his wife, Sherrie, two daughters, and a son.

Paul H. Gerst, a distinguished retired cardiothoracic surgeon and emeritus professor of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, died Sept. 29, 2013, at age 86. He served as a medical officer with the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. A former member of the attending staff in the Department of Surgery at Columbia, Dr. Gerst served for close to four decades as chairman of the Department of Surgery and director of the surgical residency program at Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center. Among other honors, he received the Parker J. Palmer Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for his stewardship of surgical residency training at Bronx Lebanon. Preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth C. Gerst, PhD, a former assistant dean at P&S, he is survived by three sons and a granddaughter.

Harold H. Orvis, a retired internist, died May 25, 2013. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and pursued a private medical practice for many years in West Chester, Pa., where he was former chief of internal medicine at Chester County Hospital. An accomplished carpenter in his free time, he also enjoyed flying his own plane. He is survived by his wife, Anna, a daughter, two sons, eight grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

1954

Hueston C. King, a former clinical professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida, died Nov. 29, 2013. He served in the U.S. Army and was acting team doctor for West Point Military Academy. He pursued a private practice in ENT/allergy, first in Miami, then in Venice, Fla., where he was affiliated with Venice Hospital. Dr. King was the author, co-author, or editor of several best-selling textbooks in otolaryngology and otolaryngic allergy. He served terms as president of the Greater Miami Ear, Nose and Throat Association, the Florida Society of Otolaryngology, and the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, the country’s oldest allergy organization. Preceded in death by his wife, Wilma, he is survived by a daughter and a son.

1956

Thomas Eugene Federowicz died Nov. 27, 2013. The only child of a Pennsylvania coal miner and his wife, he entered Columbia on a football scholarship. During medical school, he met Jeanne Reynolds, a nurse at what was then called Babies Hospital, and they married in 1956. After completing a general surgery residency and a hand fellowship at Roosevelt Hospital, Captain Federowicz served as hospital chief of surgery at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. He began a private practice in surgery in 1962 after moving his family to Vestal, N.Y., where he and his wife raised nine children. A son described Dr. Federowicz as a physician who “courageously determined to embody the code of Hippocrates, at one point heroically riding in a puddle-jumper plane from Vestal to Lexington, Ky., in order to attempt to reattach the hand of a 5-year-old injured in a farm machine accident.” He also taught as an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Syracuse Medical School. After he retired, he helped establish a free clinic in Binghamton and volunteered at the clinic for several years. He also was instrumental in the creation and passage of a 1974 law that mandated that all public school windows in New York state be made of safety glass. Survivors include Jeanne, his wife of 57 years, eight children, and 21 grandchildren. Another son, Dr. Gregory Federowicz, died earlier in 2013.

1958

Edwin D. Bransome, a professor of medicine and physiology emeritus at the Medical College of Georgia and medical director of the diabetes center at Aiken Regional Medical Center, died Oct. 15, 2013. A distinguished academic endocrinologist, Dr. Bransome was a past president of the U.S. Pharmacopeia Convention, the policy-making body of the USP. Survivors include his wife, Janet, a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

1960

Arthur J. Lennon Jr., a retired internist and former member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Medicine at P&S, who also had an MPH from Columbia, died Jan. 19, 2014. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. For more than four decades Dr. Lennon was a member of the staff in the Department of Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital, where he served as a former president of the medical board. For many years he was a staff member of the Isabella Geriatric Center, where he served as director of medical services, then as vice chairman of the board. He is survived by his wife, Airlie, a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren.

Martin L. Sorger, an orthopedic surgeon affiliated for more than 30 years with the Montclair Orthopaedic Group in Glen Ridge, N.J., died May 5, 2013. He was 78. A member of the clinical faculty of both P&S and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, he was a recipient of the New Jersey Orthopaedic Society Outstanding Physician Award. He also served for many years on the boards for the Mountainside Hospital Foundation, the Miix Insurance Company, MD Advantage, and the Montclair Kimberley Academy. He is survived by his wife, Susan, a daughter, two sons, and six grandchildren.

1961

Paul A. Graham, a retired general and thoracic surgeon, died March 20, 2013. He was 78. He fulfilled his military service as chief of surgery of the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku, Vietnam, chief of general surgery at Fort Ord in California, and chief of general surgery at Fort Meade, Md. In retirement Dr. Graham served as a member of the board of trustees of Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, Fla., and as vestryman at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach. Survivors include his wife, Adaire, two daughters, two sons, and 10 grandchildren.

1963

Marc J. Taylor, a retired internist specializing in liver disease and former member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Medicine at Yale University, died June 5, 2012. Co-founder of Southbury Medical Associates, a group practice in Southbury, Conn., he was voted one of the Best Doctors of Connecticut and was also included in Best Doctors of America. Following his retirement from practice, Dr. Taylor served as medical director of River Glen Health Care Center. Also active in conservationist causes, particularly clean water and river conservation, he was founding chairman of the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, served a term as chairman of the Housatonic Valley Association, and was a vice president of the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. He later served as chairman of River Network, a nationwide coalition of conservationists. Dr. Taylor was particularly proud of a Cooperative Conservationist Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the River Hero Award from the River Network. He is survived by his wife, Janet, two daughters, and three grandchildren.

1964

The Rev. Anne C. Brower, whose extraordinary career spanned the domains of skeletal radiology, in which she was a renowned authority, and spiritual guidance, as an ordained Episcopal priest, died of lung cancer Oct. 29, 2013. She was 75. Dr. Brower was former chair of the Department of Radiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. She was a member of the clinical team called in to care for five U.S. presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush). Dr. Brower also taught for many years as a member of the faculty in the Department of Radiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. The author of a widely read textbook, “Arthritis in Black and White,” she was the recipient of the Marie Curie Award of the American Association of Women Radiologists, among other honors. She was also the author of “I Am Not Ready to Die Just Yet,” a book she wrote while preparing for the priesthood, composed of the stories of ordinary people who lived “with, through, and beyond their diseases.” In 1996, at age 62, she entered the Episcopalian seminary in Alexandria, Va., and was ordained a priest in 2001. Among other positions in the clergy, she served as senior chaplain at Washington National Cathedral. Dr. Brower is survived by her husband, Glenn Allen Scott, a daughter, a son, five stepchildren, and two grandchildren.

1965

John W. Hadden, a research scientist in allergy and immunology and one of the founders of the field of immunopharmacology, died April 1, 2013. Dr. Hadden was professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics and former director of the division of immunopharmacology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa. An expert in immunomodulatory drugs and cytokines, he published a study that became a Citation Classic. His work helped prove the efficacy of a combined pharmaceutical and biological neoadjuvant approach to cancer therapy. He is survived by his wife, Elba, and two sons.

Stephen B. Kurtin, a dermatologist, former member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Dermatology, and former chief of dermatological surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, died of prostate cancer Nov. 2, 2013. At Mount Sinai he was twice named “Teacher of the Year” and in 2012 earned the “Lifetime Achievement Award.” In 2006 Dr. Kurtin moved to Atlanta to join a group practice in dermatology. He was also a competitive swimmer who once placed first in the 50-yard butterfly stroke in an Eastern Invitational AAU Masters Swim Meet. He is survived by two daughters, a son, and seven grandchildren.

1973

Richard M. Handwerger, an ophthalmologist, died Sept. 23, 2013. Dr. Handwerger was founder and director of the first corneal transplant program for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California and regularly presented his most challenging cases at corneal grand rounds at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. His clinical acumen, in particular his work on infant corneal transplants, was the subject of multiple radio broadcasts and newspaper articles. After leaving Kaiser Permanente, he pursued a private ophthalmology practice in Beverly Hills. He also served as a medical examiner for the state of California and an independent medical expert reviewer for the California Medical Board. Among other honors, he received the City of Los Angeles Commendation, signed by former mayor Tom Bradley. He gave generously of his time to provide pro bono surgical eye care under the auspices of World Health Volunteers for the poor in Mexico. Dr. Handwerger was a member of the medical advisory board of the Lions-Doheny Eye and Tissue Bank at USC and was affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was also a pianist and longtime supporter and member of the board of directors of the American Youth Symphony Orchestra.

1983

Jeffrey S. Ben-Zvi, an internist specializing in gastroenterology and former member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Medicine at P&S, died April 21, 2013. Dr. Ben-Zvi was affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center, New York Community Hospital, CUMC, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt, and Lenox Hill, where he served for a time as acting director of the gastroenterology and liver disease clinic. He is survived by his wife, Julie, five daughters, two sons, and a granddaughter.

1986

Alan J. Saffran, an ear, nose and throat specialist and chief of ENT at Orlando Regional Medical Center and Florida Hospital in Orlando, Fla., died of pancreatic cancer Sept. 28, 2013. He made time in his busy professional life to volunteer on multiple occasions to care for children in Mexico. He is survived by his wife, Pamela, a daughter, two sons, a brother, and his mother.

GSAS 1988

Ada Catharine Szeto Rubin died July 20, 2013, at age 50, after a long heroic fight with cancer. She received an MA degree in 1986 and an MPhil degree in 1988 from the biochemistry & molecular biophysics program at Columbia. She married Michael Rubin’88 PhD, and he and their two sons survive her. After moving to Puerto Rico, she received her PhD in microbiology and biology in 2005 from the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. She joined the faculty of the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, as an assistant professor of biochemistry. She conducted research on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and objectively analyzed her own illness as part of her research. She had several funded research grants, published many scientific articles, received academic distinctions, and gave numerous presentations at national meetings. “In her professional life, Ada was first and foremost a researcher. She loved to do experimental bench work and explore the cutting edge of molecular neuroscience research. She also derived great pleasure and satisfaction mentoring young scientists and aiding in their scientific and professional development,” says her husband. He also recalled her as a dedicated advocate for the promotion of cancer awareness who was active in providing support for other cancer patients.

1991

Arabella I. Leet, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and chief of staff at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Honolulu, died Dec. 15, 2013. She previously taught on the faculty in the Department of Orthopedics at Johns Hopkins University, where she served as director of the Orthopedic Center for Children with Cerebral Palsy at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. Leet published numerous papers in the areas of cerebral palsy, osteogenesis imperfecta, and fibrous dysplasia. She is survived by her husband, Steven Nyman, and a son.

Other Deaths Among Alumni

• William L. Sands’46
• John C. Wilsey’47
• Horace Crary’48
• Gordon L. Mathes’48
• Joseph “Skoot” Dimon III’53
• Herbert E. Poch’53
• Benjamin Wright’53
• Richard Naeye’55
• Howard Triedman’56
• William P. Weiss’56
• Paul Kennedy’57
• Donald Wilcox’58
• Henry Selvey’66