Alumni

Gordon Balyeat (M.D. 1935, Residency 1939) died February 7, 2009, at age 97. Former chief of staff at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Balyeat was an internal medicine specialist who was the first to introduce penicillin to the Grand Rapids area.

Nancy Bishop (M.D. 1944), 88, died December 25, 2008, following the death of her husband, Ronald C. Bishop (M.D. 1944), 87, on December 22. Nancy suffered a stroke in 2002 and Ronald cared for her until suffering a stroke himself in 2005. The Bishops met as classmates in the U-M Medical School, and married in 1945. Nancy practiced at Planned Parenthood of Ann Arbor and for 10 years with the U-M Health Service, and spent many years at home caring for the couple’s four children. In 1969, Ronald was elected to the Ann Arbor school board. Ronald, a member of the U-M Division of Hematology faculty, retired in 1987. The couple was very active with the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Sam J. Greer Jr., M.D. (Residency 1949, Fellowship 1951), 88, died January 28, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Texas. Greer came to Ann Arbor for residency at the U-M and, after a brief stint in the U.S. Army, a fellowship in thoracic surgery. In 1951, he returned to San Antonio and established a cardiothoracic surgery practice which lasted 40 years.

Beryl Harberg, M.D. (Residency 1962), died January 3, 2009, after a difficult battle with lymphoma and leukemia. He was 80. Harberg completed a residency in general surgery at the University of Arkansas Medical Center, a fellowship in general surgery at the University of Southern California, and a thoracic surgery residency at the University of Michigan. He served as a surgeon during the Korean War and practiced thoracic surgery for 40 years at the Houston Medical Center.

William N. Hawks Jr. (M.D. 1967, Residency 1971) died February 1, 2009, at his home in Gregory, Michigan. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics and worked on the Jupiter Missile Program before deciding to pursue medicine. Hawks practiced ophthalmology at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for 30 years, and at Chelsea Community Hospital for 37 years, and was a faculty member in the U-M Department of Ophthalmology from 1972-92. He traveled around the world with several organizations restoring sight to blind people in places like India and Malawi.

David Boyd Melvin, M.D., Ph.D. (Residency 1977), died November 8, 2008, of acute myeloid leukemia at age 66. He received his medical degree and completed surgical training before coming to the U-M for residency in thoracic surgery. Later in life, Melvin received a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Ohio State University. He spent much of his career at the University of Cincinnati, most recently as associate professor of clinical surgery and professor of biomedical engineering. He spent the latter part of his career as a medical researcher and inventor, and founded two companies, CardioEnergetics Inc. and Surgical Energetics Inc., to develop and commercialize his products.

Lester I. Nienhuis (M.D. 1946, Residency 1953) died February 2, 2009. He was 87. After completing his medical degree and general surgery residency at the U-M, Nienhuis served as a captain in the U.S. Medical Corps and was chief of surgery of a M.A.S.H. unit during the Korean War. In 1954 he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and later became a founding member of Surgical Associates, retiring in 1987.

Paul Ovando, M.D. (Residency 1959), died November 4, 2008, at age 85. After completing his residency at the U-M, he moved to Fullerton, California, and began a long career in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at St. Jude Medical Center. Early in his career he covered the expense of pacemakers when patients’ insurance wouldn’t. Ovando made house calls as recently as the ’90s, and sometimes accepted coffee and donuts for payment.

James Sabal (M.D. 1958) died April 15, 2009. He was 83. Sabal was born in Spain and came to New York with his family during the Spanish Civil War. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Sabal received his bachelor’s, master’s and medical degrees from the U-M. He relocated to El Paso, Texas, in 1961, and served as chief of staff at Thomason General Hospital and Providence Memorial Hospital, where he practiced family medicine and drug treatment and rehabilitation, and also directed a methadone clinic.

Franklin W. Sassaman (M.D. 1962, Residency 1968) died December 28, 2008, at age 71. After receiving his medical degree and completing an internship, he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps for two years before returning to the U-M to complete an ophthalmology residency and a master’s degree. He established Sassaman Singer Eye Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1968 and practiced there for 40 years.

Richard A. Sinnott Jr., M.D. (Residencies 1954 and 1959), 80, of Rossmoor, California, died May 3, 2008, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II and received his bachelor’s and medical degrees before coming to the U-M for a surgical residency. Sinnott then returned to his native California and practiced as a vascular surgeon at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, and was an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. A member of the Sierra Club, he enjoyed backpacking and sailing.

Faculty

Robert E. Anderson (M.D. 1953, Residency 1956), a pioneer in the field of sports medicine and team physician for the Department of Athletics from 1967-98, died November 27, 2008, of pulmonary fibrosis, at age 80. Anderson was a faculty member in the Department of Internal Medicine, and he served as director of Student Health Services from 1968-80. Anderson first developed a program in sports medicine while in practice in Flint, Michigan; the program eventually was adopted by the American Medical Society. Anderson’s career at the U-M included 25 bowl games through the tenure of four Michigan football coaches.

F. Robert Fekety Jr., M.D., professor emeritus of internal medicine and of epidemiology, died January 6, 2009, at the age of 79. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Fekety earned his M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1955. He joined the U-M faculty in 1967, where he established the Infectious Disease Program which he served as chief, training more than 50 fellows who have gone on to prominent positions throughout the U.S. A superb clinician, Fekety also did pioneering work in identifying and treating antibiotic-associated colitis caused by clostridium difficile, and for the epidemiology of the staphylococcus bacteria. Memorial gifts to support a professorship in his name may be sent to the U-M Department of Internal Medicine at 301 E. Liberty St., Suite 400, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104.

Friends

Robert Alpern, 88, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, died February 26, 2009. Alpern and his wife of 65 years, Marge, have been generous benefactors to the U-M, especially to integrative medicine, stem cell research and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The Alperns, both loyal Michigan alumni, established the Robert and Marge Alpern Stem Cell Research Fund (“Alperns Launch Stem Cell Fund,” spring 2008), to encourage embryonic and adult stem cell research University-wide which holds the greatest potential for increasing our understanding of stem cell biology and the potential for treating human disease. Alpern, a tax attorney, was the past president of the Michigan chapter of the American Jewish Committee and an active supporter of the Michigan Humane Society,

Betty Danto, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, died May 31, 2009, at age 87. She and her husband, Marvin, married for 67 years, have been generous supporters of the U-M Health System, establishing the Marvin and Betty Danto Research Professorship in Connective Tissue Research and the Danto Research Fund, and supporting the new Cardiovascular Center (“Conquering the Scourge of Scleroderma,” spring 2006). The auditorium in the center’s clinical building was named for the Dantos in recognition of their support. The Dantos’ gifts honor the clinical skills of U-M physicians James Seibold, M.D., Kim Eagle, M.D., and Andrzej Jakubowiak, M.D., Ph.D. Two of the Dantos’ three children are U-M alumni.