Alumni

Edmund T. Bott (M.D. 1938) died in Dearborn, Michigan, on August 16, 2007, at the age of 94. He was a surgeon with the U.S. Army during World War II, then returned to his home in Wyandotte, Michigan, and practiced there for 37 years, delivering more than 3,000 babies. He was a generous benefactor to several schools and organizations, including the U-M Medical School. Bott received the 2007 Humanitarian Achievement Award from the Wayne County Medical Society in May.

Fred Jenner “Ted” Hodges III, M.D. (Residency 1954), died August 9, 2007, at his home in Webster Groves, Missouri, following treatment for an inoperable brain tumor. He was 84. Hodges started his career at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in 1957 as an assistant professor of radiology. He helped found the institute’s program in neuroradiology that same year. In 1966 he became chief of neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He returned to Washington University in 1980 and remained there, retiring in 2003. Hodges’ father was Fred Jenner “Ted” Hodges II, M.D., chair of radiology at the U-M Medical School for 37 years.

Arthur I. Johnson (M.D. 1967), 65, died on August 19, 2007, from complications of progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disorder. An accomplished obstetrician and gynecologist, he was the first black chief of staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where he practiced from 1976-2004. As a member of the U.S. Air Force, he served a tour as a medic in Vietnam and received two Bronze Stars.

Carroll M. Leevy (M.D. 1944) died August 25, 2007, at his home in Short Hills, New Jersey. He was 86. An internationally-recognized authority on liver disease, Leevy served as director of the New Jersey Medical School Liver Center and as scientific director of the Sammy Davis Jr. National Liver Institute at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. During the Korean War, he was a commander in the Navy and director of Pulmonary and Liver Services at St. Albans New York Naval Hospital. Leevy also served as president of the American Association of Liver Diseases and the International Association for the Study of the Liver.

Brian F. McCabe (M.D. 1954, Residency 1959), of Iowa City, Iowa, died October 7, 2007, at age 81. After serving as a medical corpsman in the U.S. Navy, he attended the University of Detroit. McCabe then went on to attend the U-M Medical School and complete an otolaryngology residency here, then joined the faculty as an assistant professor. In 1964 he became chair of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he remained until retiring in 1996. He served as editor of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology from 1982-2004, and was active in many national and international medical societies and boards.

George R. Minor, M.D. (Residency 1946), died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on November 29, 2007. He was 94. Born in Kentucky, Minor earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and then an M.D. from the University of Virginia. He served a thoracic surgery residency there for two years, and at the U-M for four years. He served as assistant professor of surgery at the University of Illinois, then returned in 1949 to the University of Virginia, retiring in 1984. A niece, Margaret Minor Wood of Boston, Massachusetts, is collecting memories of her uncle. If you knew Minor during his Michigan residency years, please contact her at mwood@pinck-co.com.

Ernest M. Newkirk II (M.D. 1985, Residency 1989) died on August 11, 2007, at his home in Hillsborough, California, following a three-year battle with cancer. He was 48. After completing his anesthesiology residency, Newkirk joined the Redwood City Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in California, where he served as chief of the anesthesia department from 1990-2006.

Charles Henry Peller, M.D. (Residencies 1965 and 1967), 77, died November 30, 2007, after a long battle with cancer. A native of Albany, New York, he served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, then earned his B.A. in 1956 at New York University, Washington Square College, and his M.D. from the NYU School of Medicine in 1960. Peller completed his residencies at the U-M in thoracic, general and vascular surgery. He practiced in Canton, Ohio, from 1967-93, then retired to Ann Arbor.

Carl T. Rauch Jr. (M.D. 1953) died at age 86 on July 21, 2007, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lake City, Florida. Born in Cadillac, Michigan, Rauch was a U.S. Army pilot in World War II and received the Purple Heart after being shot down in New Guinea. After the war, he held a private practice in Cheboygan, Michigan, for 20 years before moving to Dearborn to run occupational medical clinics; he retired in 1982, moving to Lake City.

Marvin E. Schrock (M.D. 1961, Residency 1966), 72, of Naples, Florida, died on July 10, 2007, of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. He was an obstetrician and gynecologist in Ann Arbor and Howell, Michigan, for 42 years, delivering more than 5,000 babies during his career. He was a loyal U-M sports fan and supporter throughout his life.

John Hunt Walker (M.D. 1940) died at his home in Bellevue, Washington, on November 8, 2007. He was 93. Walker completed his M.D. at the U-M before entering the U.S. Army during World War II. He completed a residency in radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and joined the radiology department at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, in 1947. He was an instrumental figure at the institution, serving from 1964-76 as chair of the Medical Center.

Faculty

Former Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery Julian T. Hoff, M.D., who was the Richard C. Schneider Professor of Neurosurgery, died at the age of 70 on April 16, 2007, after a seven-month battle with acute leukemia. Hoff received his M.D. from Cornell University in 1962. After a general surgery residency and two years serving in the Army in Japan, he completed neurosurgery training at the New York Hospital in 1970. He joined the faculty of the University of California-San Francisco, and was recruited to Michigan in 1981 to head the Section of Neurosurgery. Under Hoff’s leadership, the section evolved from three neurosurgeons in the Department of Surgery to an independent department with 14 full-time clinical faculty and five research faculty members. A member of the Institute of Medicine, Hoff also served as president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Friends

Lewis B. Becker, a generous benefactor of the Medical School, died September 20, 2007, at the age of 83. Becker, together with his wife of 58 years, endowed the Lewis and Lillian Becker Professorship in Dermatology. At the age of 16, Becker entered the College of the City of New York. He interrupted his education to serve four years as a combat infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. He completed his undergraduate education at CCNY, and earned a master’s in industrial engineering and management from Columbia University. Lewis was president and CEO of Midwest Stamping Company, where he worked until retiring in 1994.

Donald R. Berg, 79, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, died September 30, 2007. Berg’s support of the Health System was wide-ranging but especially generous in the area of Alzheimer’s disease research. With his wife, he established the Donald R. and Sally A. Berg Fund for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease. After 10 years in his wife’s family lumber business, Berg purchased the Corner Bar in Rockford, Michigan, which became a popular restaurant and social center. In addition to research at Michigan, he supported many local causes and was a loyal patron of the American Cancer Society. Honoring his commitment, those who wish may make a gift to the Donald R. and Sally A. Berg Fund for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease, Office of Medical Development, 301 E. Liberty, Suite 400, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104.