1940s

Margaret E. Grigsby (M.D. 1948), of Washington, D.C., recently was elected by the American College of Physicians Board of Regents as the 2004 recipient of the James D. Bruce Memorial Award for Distinguished Contributions in Preventive Medicine. She was also elected to mastership in the college by the board in recognition of her career achievements. At age 81, Grigsby reports that she is "still overwhelmed by the honors I am to receive from the ACP."

1960s

Floyd F. Miller, M.D. (Residency 1961), lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he has spent decades treating patients with pulmonary problems such as asthma. He has served as president of both the Oklahoma State Medical Association and of the Oklahoma University College of Medicine Alumni Association, and is founder, chairman and president of the state medical association's self-insurance fund, PLICO.

E.H. Newel Smith, M.D. (Residency 1961), of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was recognized in February as one of four physicians who best served Grace Hospital during the past 40-50 years at a dinner recognizing the hospital's closing. During his career at Grace Hospital, Smith encouraged many to donate their eyes to the eye bank and was an early supporter of corneal transplants in Ontario.

James Ravin (M.D. 1968, Residency 1974) was recently voted president-elect of the Academy of Medicine of Toledo and Lucas County, and is president-elect of the Toledo Surgical Society. His article "Sir Frederick Treves and Sympathetic Ophthalmia" was published in the January 2004 issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

1970s

Richard T. Miyamoto (M.D. 1970) has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. He is the Arilla Spence DeVault Professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He resides in Indianapolis.

Elson M. Haas (M.D. 1972), founder and director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, has published several books dealing with preventive medicine, nutrition, and detoxification. Staying Healthy with Nutrition, The Staying Healthy Shopper's Guide, Staying Healthy With the Seasons, The Detox Diet, and The False Fat Diet are some of the publications Haas has authored. To learn more about Haas and his practice, or to order his books, visit www.elsonhaas.com

Ralph M. Stanifer (M.D. 1973, Residency 1977) was appointed vice president and chief medical officer at Saint Luke's Regional Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa on October 1, 2003. Stanifer, a board-certified ophthalmologist, will continue to practice medical and surgical ophthalmology. He was previously in private practice in Sioux City since 1990. In addition to his U-M training, Stanifer served an internship at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, and completed a fellowship in corneal surgery and external disease at the Cullen Eye Institute at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Frank Miller (M.D. 1974) was awarded distinguished fellowship status in the American Psychiatric Association in 2003. He served as president of the North Carolina Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from 1985-89, was first chairperson of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's committee on HIV from 1988-90, and was Faculty of the Year at the University of South Carolina at Columbia School of Medicine in 1996. He also serves as child psychiatrist consultant to North Child Advocacy Institute. He and his wife have one biological and one adopted daughter, and are currently caring for their eighth foster child. Miller can be reached at fmillmd@msn.com .

Lives Lived

Kenneth McClatchey (M.D. 1975, Residency 1978), a professor of pathology at the U-M Medical School and professor of dentistry at the U-M School of Dentistry, died December 21, 2003, at the age of 61. In addition to his medical degree and residency, McClatchey also received a bachelor's of science (1964), a doctorate of dental science (1968) and a master's of science (1971) from the U-M. During his U-M career, he was associate chair of the Department of Pathology, and specialist in oral and forensic pathology and in clinical microbiology/ virology. He received numerous awards from the medical and dental schools, as well as from national organizations. He was active in the College of American Pathologists, serving on its board of governors from 1993-96. Upon his retirement, he was named professor emeritus of pathology and of dentistry. Contributions may be made to the Ken McClatchey Memorial Scholarship Fund, U-M Office of Medical Development, 301 E. Liberty St., Ste. 300 , Ann Arbor , MI , 48104 .

James McKay McCord (M.D. 1942) died peacefully at home on December 18, 2003 at the age of 86. He served as a captain in the Army Air Corps and, following his education at U-M, he entered into private practice in obstetrics and gynecology in Cincinnati , Ohio .

Robert H. Messer (M.D. 1956, Residency 1961) died on August 13, 2003, in Sanford, Florida, at age 71 after battling a brain tumor. Born in Ludington, Michigan, Messer received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin before going on to medical school and residency training at the U-M. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force and reached the rank of captain before being honorably discharged in 1962. Messer dedicated much of his professional life to the education of medical students and ob/gyn residents. He spoke frequently across the nation for many of the professional organizations he belonged to. Messer was an examiner for the American College of Obstetricians/Gynecologists and served as chairman of the ob/gyn departments at the University of Nebraska, University of New Mexico, and Texas Tech University. In 1997 Texas Tech awarded him their Health Sciences Center Distinguished Faculty Service Award and appointed him professor emeritus in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, where he had served for 10 years.

David M. Mumford, M.D. (Residencies 1955, 1957, 1958), of Houston, Texas, died at age 76 on November 24, 2003, after suffering a stroke.

Calvin Williams (M.D. 1955) died on January 2, 2004, at his home in Encino, California. He was 86. Williams was chief of the radiology department at Vanowen Radiology Medical Group and Valley Presbyterian Hospital for 35 years. Memorial contributions may be made to the Calvin and Annette Williams Scholarship Fund, U-M Office of Medical Development, 301 E. Liberty St., Ste. 300, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104.

Max Karl Newman, Pioneer of Physical Medicine, Dies at 94

Max Karl Newman (M.D. 1934), 94, died of a stroke on October 22, 2003, at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was a pioneer in physical medicine and rehabilitation, as well as an educator and philanthropist. Newman, who suffered from polio as a child, helped form the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation and in 1953 founded the Detroit Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, where he served as director until his death. He was a consultant at the Jewish Home for the Aged, the Catholic Home for the Aged, the Detroit House of Correction, three veteran's health administration hospitals and the Rehabilitation Institute of Detroit. He taught and/or held professorships at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, where he served his internship after medical school. Newman also lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, for 10 years with his wife, Sophia, where he developed a program for handicapped children at the Samuel Gompers Clinic. He was widely published and a member of several medical and legal organizations related to his field. Throughout his career, his practice and interests focused on patients with neuromuscular abnormalities, such as cerebral palsy, residual effects of polio and muscular dystrophy, and, in more recent years, on aging patients with stroke-related problems and degenerative orthopedic and neurological diseases.

Ralph Straffon's Achievements Took Him from the Rose Bowl to President of the ACS

Ralph A. Straffon (M.D. 1953, Residency 1956) died on January 22, 2004, in Bonita Springs, Florida, at the age of 76. In addition to receiving his medical training at the U-M, Straffon was also a fullback on the football team and played in the 1951 Rose Bowl, helping the Wolverines beat University of California-Berkeley, 14-6. Specializing in urology, Straffon helped pioneer dialysis and kidney transplantation programs at Michigan before leaving for the Cleveland Clinic in 1959. In Cleveland, Straffon held the positions of chair of urology, chief of surgery and chief of staff. The high point of his career, according to Straffon, was his election to the American College of Surgeons as a regent from 1980-89, and as president from 1991-92.

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