S T A N F O R D M D

Spring 2000

 

For Alumni
Stanford
MD

 

On the Cover

Bridging Disciplines to Squelch Cholera. 

Cover illustration by Calef Brown.

Stanford Medicine, published quarterly by Stanford University Medical Center, aims to keep readers informed about the education, research, clinical care and other goings on at the Medical Center.

 


Obituaries

 

 EHLER HENRY EISKAMP, MD, class of 1922, died Thursday, Dec. 30, at his home in Watsonville, Calif. He was 102.

Eiskamp was the Monterey Bay area's first professionally trained surgeon. He was called the father of Watsonville's first modern hospital and "St. Luke of the Pajaro Valley." In 1983 he was named Rural Physician of the Year by the California Medical Association.

He was born in Washington, Iowa, on March 8, 1897, the son and nephew of physicians. His father died when Eiskamp was seven and his mother had to assume responsibility for the education of young Ehler and his sister, Marguerite. The family moved to Palo Alto when Eiskamp was in his teens and he began his undergraduate studies in 1914 at Stanford University. Subsequently he enrolled in the School of Medicine, taking two years of classes in Palo Alto, as was customary at the time, and then continuing his studies in San Francisco. He interned at San Francisco City and County Hospital (now San Francisco General Hospital). After completing his internship, Eiskamp chose surgery as his specialty. He became the first student to take three years of postgraduate surgical training in Stanford's brand new residency program.

Eiskamp settled in Watsonville and practiced surgery there into his mid-70s. He was in his 80s when he finally retired from medical practice and could completely attend to his ranch, which he had bought in the late 1940s. (continued, next page)

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, John G. and Judy Carey Eiskamp, of Watsonville; his sister, Marguerite Blaisdell, of Watsonville; a nephew, William F. Blaisdell, MD, and a niece, Mary Blaisdell Hopkins, both of Sacramento; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Eiskamp's wife, Agnes, died in 1995.

(See "Senior Surgeon" in Stanford Medicine, Stanford MD, Fall 1998, page 32, for a profile of Dr. Eiskamp.)

 

RICHARD S. GROSS, MD, class of 1949, died Sunday, Jan. 9, at the age of 75.

A leading surgeon with a busy practice and many professional activities, Gross was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and from 1984 to 1990 he served as chair of the Committee on Applicants for the American College of Surgeons for Northern California District II. A member of the Sacramento-El Dorado Medical Society, he served on the Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee, on the board of directors and as secretary of the society.

While a student at Stanford University, he took part in the U.S. Naval V-12 program (1943-1946) and after obtaining his MD, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force (1951-1952). He received his surgical training at Stanford and became board-certified in 1958.

Gross was with Sutter Medical Group from 1957 to 1989. He served on the staff of Mercy General Hospital for almost 35 years and as plant physician for Procter and Gamble for nearly 30 years.

He is survived by his wife, four children, nine grandchildren; and his twin sister and older brother.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Sutter Medical Center, c/o The Sutter Foundation, 2800 L Street, Sacramento, Calif. 95816.

 

PAUL G. HATTERSLEY, MD, class of 1945, died Dec. 30, in Sacramento. He was 84. A specialist in hematology, he developed the activated coagulation time test for renal dialysis and open heart surgery, a test still in use today.

A graduate of UC Berkeley with a major in bacteriology, Hattersley enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Hawaii as a lab technician before enrolling in Stanford School of Medicine. He continued at Stanford for his internship and residency before completing his service commitment at Letterman General Hospital.

He served as scientific director of the Sacramento Medical Foundation Blood Bank from 1956 to 1969. Other positions he held included chief of the clinical lab, Student Health Services, UC Davis; director of the clinical lab, Department of Clinical Pathology, Sacramento Medical Center (UC Davis); and director of the hematology laboratory at UC Davis Medical Center. He held teaching posts at Stanford, the University of Pacific and UC Davis. He retired in 1982 as professor emeritus, internal medicine and pathology, UC Davis School of Medicine.

Hattersley, the son of Baptist missionaries in education, was born in Mamyo, Burma (Myanmar). He and his wife, Rosalie, loved to travel and they visited Burma in 1988 as part of a memorable trip with a medical group.

He is survived by his wife, six children, eight grandchildren and two brothers. Memorial contributions may be sent to the donor's favorite charity.

 

JOHN P. STEWARD, MD, died of cancer Saturday, Feb. 5, at his home in Palo Alto. He was 72. Steward served as associate dean for student affairs at the School of Medicine from 1971 until 1990, when he retired.

He was a native of California, born on Oct. 9, 1927, in Huntington Park. Steward's long and devoted association with Stanford began in 1944, when he enrolled as an undergraduate, majoring in biological sciences. He received his medical degree here in 1955.

He completed his internship and residency at U.S. Naval hospitals in Oakland, Calif., and Pensacola. Fla. Steward went on to serve as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon on active duty in the Far East.

He returned to Stanford in 1958 as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medical Microbiology. Except while on sabbatical leave in 1968 as a research scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, in Melbourne, Australia, Steward remained at Stanford throughout his career. He held faculty and administrative posts, including teaching basic medical sciences and medical microbiology and serving as acting director of Stanford's Fleischmann Laboratories before becoming an associate dean at the School of Medicine.

His memorable 1989 medical school commencement address focused on the components of the Hippocratic Oath and emphasized the need for compassion and humanity and love in the practice of medicine and the care of patients.

Steward was also a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve and a member of the American Association of Immunologists.

In his retirement he worked clinically with AIDS patients and he chaired the HIV Disease Commission for the Episcopal Diocese of California.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Rector's Discretionary Fund at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto, Calif. 94306.

(See "Say Awe" in Stanford Medicine, Stanford MD, Winter 1999-2000, page 38, for a profile of Dr. Steward.) SMD