1950s

Henry Poore, M.D. (Residency 1959), has published the book Lessons Remembered: Memoirs of an Audacious Country Doctor (available at www.docpoore.com). In the book, he recalls his childhood in Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia, his career as a physician in Virginia and Arizona, his work with the Navajos, his travels (both for pleasure and as a medical missionary) and more. Poore and his wife, Nina, divide their time between Arizona and Virginia and enjoy raising cattle on their ranch and spending time with their seven children and 14 grandchildren.

1960s

H. Otto Kaak (M.D. 1964, Residency 1972), a professor of psychiatry and of pediatrics at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, was honored in January when a benefactor endowed a chair at that university in his honor. The H. Otto Kaak Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Mental Health will support the work of a researcher in the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services Clinic in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. Kaak is a principal investigator at the clinic, holds a joint faculty appointment in the College of Social Work, and is a founding member of the Kentucky Attachment Project, which educates, advocates and provides training for professionals working with children who have attachment disorders.

Richard S. Panush (M.D. 1967), professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, is president-elect of the Association of Chiefs and Chairs of Medicine. Prior to his current position, Panush was professor and chief of the Division of Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He and his wife, Rena, have three children, two grandchildren and two dogs, and reside in Florham Park, New Jersey.

1970s

Douglas Kirkpatrick, M.D. (Residency 1975), has been elected president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). His term began in May. Kirkpatrick is an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and resides in Denver. He has been an ACOG fellow since 1980, served as vice president of the organization and as chair of the Grievance Committee and the Council of District Chairs, chaired the group’s District VIII and Colorado Section, and received the 2003 Outstanding District Service Award and the 1990 Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Section Award.

Robert Willix (Residency 1975) has opened Cenegenics Medical Institute at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida. The institute provides patients with hormone therapy, nutrition and exercise regimens in an effort to decrease the effects of aging. Willix is CEO of the institute, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has a third U.S. location in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as international presences in South Korea, Japan and China. He resides in Boca Raton.

1990s

Joel L. Young, M.D. (Residency 1993), medical director of the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine in Rochester Hills, Michigan, has authored the book AD/HD Grown Up: A Guide to Adolescent and Adult ADHD. Young, a psychiatrist with added qualifications in geriatric and forensic psychiatry, is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and of the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry, and frequently writes about mental health issues. He and his wife, Mindy, have three children.

 

Lives Lived

Saroja Adusumilli, M.D. (Residency 2000), clinical assistant professor in the U-M Medical School Department of Radiology, died March 3 at the age of 36 from injuries sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred while she was returning from giving four talks at a University-sponsored continuing medical education conference in Arizona. Adusumilli received her medical degree from the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and, following her residency at the U-M, completed a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the U-M faculty in 2002, and soon became a well-respected authority on magnetic resonance imaging and a member of the abdominal imaging group in the department. A valued mentor to residents and fellows, Adusumilli was associate director of the radiology residency program at the time of her death.

Robert F. Barnett Jr., M.D. (Residency 1961), died February 13 at age 78. Barnett completed an internship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and, after three years of service in the Navy, worked for one year with the Los Angeles Health Department before returning to the U-M for a radiology residency. Barnett spent one year as an instructor in the U-M Department of Radiology, then joined a radiology practice in Petoskey, Michigan. In 1962, he moved to Cadillac, Michigan, and practiced radiology at Mercy Hospital and Medical Art until he retired in 1990. Barnett also served as director of the Cadillac State Bank for 20 years, and was instrumental in its merger with NBD. He was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of history, specifically the battles of World War II and the game of baseball. He loved show tunes and playing chess, and he was a devoted fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Michigan football. Barnett is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, four children and four grandsons.

Franklin Ray Black (M.D. 1941) of Reno, Nevada, died on May 3 at the age of 91. A retired surgeon and U.S. Army veteran who served in World War II, he is survived by his wife, Rita, four children and 28 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Frank R. Ellis (M.D. 1943, Residency 1954) died March 22 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 91. Ellis was a U-M Medical School student and a member of the Michigan National Guard when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Medical Administrative Corps, Officers Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army. He remained dedicated to the military throughout his life and served in France during World War II. During his career, he served as clinical pathologist and assistant director of pathology at Wayne County General Hospital in Eloise, Michigan, and served in various roles at many Red Cross facilities around the country. In 1984 he retired to Arvada, Colorado, where he spent time restoring vintage vehicles. In 1999 he moved to Scottsdale where he continued to work on cars and participated in numerous auto clubs and shows. He is survived by his wife, Gertrude, four children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Francis A. Gress, M.D. (Residency 1950), died December 8, 2006. He was 86. Gress received his bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University and his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College before completing a residency in pediatrics at the U-M. He was in private practice and was associated with St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from 1951-86, and served as an Army physician during World War II. In addition to his medical career, Gress served as a lay eucharistic minister at Methodius Catholic Church in Bethlehem. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, Virginia, in their Airstream trailer and had served as president and treasurer of the Penn Lehigh Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International — an association of Airstream enthusiasts. Gress was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary R. Mervan Gress, and is survived by Virginia, three children, four stepchildren, five grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren.

Herbert J. Hazledine (M.D. 1943, Residency 1945), 92, died on March 28. After completing his medical training, Hazledine served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1950-52, then continued his surgical training for two years at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He then returned to his home in Port Huron, Michigan, to establish a new practice, Surgical Associates. During his career he served as chief of staff and chief of surgery at Port Huron Hospital and Mercy Hospital, was a member of the Port Huron Hospital Board of Directors and president of the St. Clair County Medical Society. He also served on his local school board and was active in the St. Clair County community and the First Congregational Church. In 1981 he retired to Florida where he enjoyed golfing and being close to nature, often watching the alligators in the pond behind his house. Hazledine was preceded in death by his first wife, Tine, in 1964, his second wife, Betty, in 1966, and a son, Thomas. He is survived by two daughters, a daughter-in-law, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Rose H. Parker Kahn (M.D. 1940, Residency 1942) died on May 21 at the age of 91. In addition to her medical degree, Kahn held a master’s degree in public health from the U-M, and served as a faculty member in the Department of Internal Medicine and performed nuclear medicine research at the U-M for many years. A member of the recovering community in Washtenaw County, Kahn helped many others struggling with addiction. She enjoyed spending summers on Surveyor’s Island, near Drummond Island in Michigan’s eastern Upper Penninsula, where she documented the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, gardened and took walks. She was preceded in death in 1985 by her husband, renowned U-M neurosurgeon Edgar A. Kahn (M.D. 1924, Residency 1926). She is survived by one son, three daughters, eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Barbara Ruth Rennick (M.D. 1950), of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, died December 14, 2006. She was 87. Rennick began her career as an educator at the State University of New York Medical School in Syracuse. She was a research fellow at Oxford University in England for one year, then returned to teaching at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and then at the State University of New York Medical School in Buffalo. While at Buffalo, she performed research funded by the National Institutes of Health and served as chair of pharmacology for four years. Rennick retired to Punta Gorda, Florida, and eventually relocated to Chapel Hill. She was active in the League of Women Voters and the Spafford Historical Society, and served on the Mental Health Foundation Board in Chapel Hill. She is survived by her sister and six nieces and nephews.

Samuel I. Roth (M.D. 1949) of Woodland Hills, California, died February 25. He was 84. Roth specialized in internal medicine and was an assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. He was an active environmentalist and co-founder of the Los Angeles, California, chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. In 1989 he chaired a symposium in Los Angeles to educate others about the importance of preserving the rainforests of Brazil in an effort to counter the greenhouse effect.

David J. Young (M.D. 1952) died on May 23 from complications of Parkinson’s disease, which he battled for nearly three decades. He was 78. The youngest member of the Class of 1952, Young also was ranked first in the class, academically. He was one of the original board-certified internists at Providence Hospital in Detroit and Southfield, Michigan. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and three children — a U-M Medical School professor, a nurse and a psychiatrist — all trained at the University of Michigan.

 

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