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In Memoriam

Benjamin M. Stein, ’35
Great Neck, N.Y.
August 21, 2005
Dr. Benjamin Stein is remembered as one of Maryland’s most loyal alumni. After graduation he served two years of internship at the Jamaica Hospital in New York. From 1941 to 1946, he was a medical officer in the European Theater of Operations, and nearing the end of World War II, he established and supervised radiology departments at U.S. hospitals in Frankfurt and Berlin. Dr. Stein entered private practice in Hempstead in 1946 and shortly afterward became director, co-chief of radiology, and joint owner of the Brunswick Home, Inc., in Amityville. In 1957, he became the sole owner of the home, which operated the Brunswick General Hospital, the Brunswick Nursing Home-Geriatric Unit and a unit for mentally retarded children. He purchased the Louden-Knickerbocker Hall a year later, incorporating the institution into the Brunswick Home and Hospital. The complex was renamed The Brunswick Hospital Center in 1960. Dr. Stein was the first president and chairman of the board of the Federation of American Hospitals and was vice president of the Accredited Private Hospital Association of Nassau-Suffolk. In the mid 1960s, he initiated a continuing education program at the Brunswick Hospital Center, conducted by Maryland’s continuing education committee. Maryland faculty members often flew to and from the meeting in Dr. Stein’s private plane. He was a member of the advisory board to the president of the University of Maryland and served as 108th president of the Medical Alumni Association in 1982. Dr. Stein and wife Claire were among the founding members of the John Beale Davidge Alliance in 1978. He is survived by Claire and son Douglas, ’77.

Ross Z. Pierpont, ’40
Timonium, Md.
September 30, 2005
Prior to medical school, Dr. Pierpont graduated from Maryland’s pharmacy school in 1937. Upon completion of his medical degree, he trained at Maryland General Hospital, Baltimore City Hospitals, and the State University of Iowa. From 1945 until 1980, Dr. Pierpont was an associate professor in surgical anatomy at Maryland, also serving as assistant clinical professor of surgery from 1961 to 1975. He was staff surgeon and chief of surgery at Harford Memorial Hospital from 1948 to 1960 and chief of surgery at Maryland General from 1960 to 1986. Over a span of 36 years, Dr. Pierpont ran and lost 16 times for elective offices including Baltimore mayor, U.S. senator, and Maryland governor first as a Democratic candidate and later as a Republican. Dr. Pierpont was an outspoken critic of America’s health care system and advocated for the adoption of universal health coverage similar to the model utilized in Germany. At Maryland, he worked with the alumni office in organizing an annual public health policy symposium starting in 1994. He was captain for the class of 1940 and a member of the John Beale Davidge Alliance, the medical school’s recognition society for major donors. Dr. Pierpont liked to sing and was a supporter of both the Baltimore Opera Company and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He played golf and squash, and he was team physi-cian and part-owner of the Baltimore Clippers, a minor-league hockey team. Dr. Pierpont is survived by wife Grace, one daughter, and four grandchildren.

Pierson M. Checket, ’41
Westminster, Md.
October 30, 2005
With World War II beginning shortly after graduation, Dr. Checket served for three years in the U.S. Navy in Australia and was honorably discharged. His internship and residency training in surgery occurred at West Baltimore General Hospital. He operated two offices in Baltimore for more than 35 years and was never confronted with a medical malpractice suit. Dr. Checket served as chief surgeon and head of the department of surgery at the Lutheran Hospital where in 1970 he assembled the hospital’s first emergency physicians’ team. Later one of the OR suites was dedicated in his honor. He was class captain for 1941 and organized class reunions every five years since graduation. Dr. Checket enjoyed wood carving and is survived by wife Beatrice, three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His first wife, Jewel, died in the 1980s.

Albert L. Ingram Jr., ’42
Rutherfordton, N.C.
July 27, 2005
Dr. Ingram immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy after medical school, serving aboard the destroyer USS Upshur in the North Atlantic as a lieutenant. After military service, Dr. Ingram interned at Delaware Hospital in Wilmington and received psychiatric residency training at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. He became the first psychiatrist to establish a private practice in the state of Dela-ware where he remained for 15 years. This was followed by an appointment as university psychiatrist and director of university health services at Penn State University. Dr. Ingram was then named commissioner of mental health for the state of Delaware, and, following a reorganization of state government, served as its first secretary of health and social services. Afterwards Dr. Ingram returned to Penn State as director of its mental health center and in 1979 became clinical director of the Rutherford-Polk Area Mental Health/Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Program where he remained until 1984. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He enjoyed gardening, bird watching, sports, and reading. Dr. Ingram and wife Margaret had three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Charles A. Neff, ’43M
Lebanon, Pa.
October 17, 2005

J. Carlton Wich, ’43M
Timonium, Md.
October 13, 2005
Prior to medical school, Dr. Wich earned a degree from Maryland’s pharmacy school. Following completion of his medical degree, he served in the U.S. Army aboard a hospital ship in the Pacific and attained the rank of captain. Dr. Wich returned to the Baltimore area after the war and established a pediatric practice. He headed the pediatric department at St. Joseph Medical Center in the 1970s, served on the staff at Mercy, and was a consulting pediatrician at St. Vincent’s Infants Home for 50 years. After failing eyesight forced him into retirement, Dr. Wich purchased a large-monitor computer with large type font and mastered the internet. He was a member of the Wedgwood Club for pharmacists and the Sailing Club of the Chesapeake as well as the Spry Island Cruising Club, where he served as fleet surgeon. Dr. Wich is survived by wife Mary, one son, and two grandchildren. His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1983.

Henry T. Brobst, ’43D
Roanoke, Va.
November 13, 2005
Following graduation, Dr. Brobst served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain. He received residency training in pathology and general surgery at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis and at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lafayette. A plastic surgery preceptorship followed in San Francisco before Dr. Brobst moved to Roanoke and began a private practice in plastic and reconstructive surgery. He became the first board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in southwestern Virginia where he worked until retirement in 1992. He was a founding member and past president of the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, was a past president of the Virginia Plastic Surgery Society, and held memberships in the American society of Plastic Surgeons and the Roanoke Academy of Medicine. Dr. Brobst was on the professional advisory board of the Roanoke Speech and Hearing Center. He is survived by wife Muriel, one daughter, one son, and three grandchildren.

Daniel O. Hammond, ’45
Wellington, Fla.
February 9, 2005
Upon completing his medical education at Maryland, Dr. Hammond interned at Baltimore’s Sinai Hospital and received residency training at Jackson Memorial in Miami, University Hospital in Augusta, Ga., and Perry Point (Md.) VA Hospital. Later, Dr. Hammond served a pathology and physiology fellowship at the University of Rochester. He practiced Ob/Gyn in Miami for 40 years and retired in 1992. He was a founding staff member of Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Cedars Medical Center in Miami. In retirement, he was a volunteer physician in the Palm Beach County Health Department and in 2001 the department honored him as its volunteer health care provider of the year. Dr. Hammond played the viola in several orchestras. He also enjoyed tennis and gardening. He is survived by wife Rosemond, two daughters, and three grandchildren.

Irl J. Wentz, ’46
Newport, N.C.
June 22, 2005
Dr. Wentz completed his medical degree at age 33 and interned at Newark City Hospital in Newark, N.J. He received orthopaedic training in the U.S. Army at Valley Forge General Hospital. This was followed by residency training at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, and he completed a fellowship at A. I. DuPont Hospital for Crippled Children in Wilmington, Del. Dr. Wentz maintained a solo practice for 20 years. Later he worked four days per week performing orthopaedic evaluations for Social Security and state and federal workers compensation cases. He retired in August 1999. Dr. Wentz enjoyed boating and salt water fishing. He is survived by wife Isolde and three daughters.

John C. Healy ’50
Baltimore
December 9, 2005

Memorial gifts are
warmly received by:

Medical Alumni Association of
the University of Maryland, Inc.
522 West Lombard Street
Baltimore, MD, 21201-1636

For more information
simply call (410) 706-7454

 

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John O. Sharrett, ’52
New Freedom, Pa.
November 5, 2005
After completing one semester of college at the University of Virginia in 1942 , Dr. Sharrett entered the U.S. Army Air Forces and became a fighter pilot. During the war years he served as a P-51 Mustang fighter and gunnery instructor. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant. He then returned to college and in 1952 earned his medical degree. Dr. Sharrett received training in neurological surgery, neuroanatomy, and neuropathology at Maryland and undertook a six-month graduate course in neurology at Queens Square in London before entering private practice in 1958. He was an instructor in neurological surgery at Maryland from 1955 to 1972, and he became chief of neurological surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in 1971. Dr. Sharrett also served as assistant chief of neurological surgery at Maryland General Hospital, and was a consultant at Bon Secours, Fort Howard VA, Kernan, Montebello, Peninsula General, the U.S. Public Health Service in Baltimore, and the Maryland State Penitentiary. He retired from practice in 1985 and became a contract physician with the Social Security Administration’s office of medical evaluation until 2004. In addition to his faculty appointment at Maryland, Dr. Sharrett served on the archives committee, hospital endowment fund committee, and public relations intramural-extramural liaison committee of the medical board. Dr. Sharrett was a member of the board of directors of the Medical Alumni Association and was elected president in 1967. He played a leadership role in the conservation of Davidge Hall and was instrumental in having the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s. He enjoyed golfing, fishing, and collecting antiques. Dr. Sharrett is survived by wife Mildred, one son, one daughter, two stepsons, and 13 grandchildren. His first wife Evelyn died in 1971.

George O. Himmelwright, ’53
Cumberland, Md.
September 14, 2005
While in medical school, Dr. Himmelwright founded a musical group of medical students which became known as the Four Signs and Symptoms, and he wrote the group’s trademark song Red Cells in the Urine. Upon graduation, Dr. Himmelwright completed a rotating internship at St. Agnes Hospital before returning to Allegany County in 1954 to open a general practice that continued until his retirement in 1986. His relationship with Fort Hill High School and its athletic teams began in 1954. Dr. Himmelwright wrote a book on field diagnosis of football injuries and became a fellow of the American Academy of Sports Medicine. In this capacity he toured the country lecturing on football field diagnosis. He was also physician for the Mount Savage basketball team and the Allegany Community College men’s basketball team. During the 1950s, Dr. Himmelwright was among the first physicians to endorse child vaccinations for the poliomyelitis virus. He worked with officials at Maryland, the University of Pittsburgh, and various drug companies to use Allegany County as a sight for a trial of the injected and oral vaccines. Later, his efforts led to Memorial Hospital becoming an official Shock Trauma hospital in Western Maryland, and he also encouraged the creation of an intensive care unit at Memorial Hospital. He is the only physician from Cumberland County to serve as president of the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Himmelwright is survived by wife Naomi, two daughters, and two grandchildren

James L. Read, ’53
Silver Spring, Md.
April 27, 2005

George K. Baer, ’55
Norwell, Mass.
August 18, 2005
Dr. Baer followed in the footsteps of his father, Harry F. Baer, who graduated from Maryland in 1894. After graduating from high school, a young George Baer joined the Army and from 1946 until 1948 served with the 69th Engineering Topography Corps. He was a member of an American team that worked closely with the Russians to survey the 38th Parallel dividing North and South Korea. After medical school he worked at Brockton Hospital for 30 years, and for 20 years served as chief of pathology. He also held a teaching position at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Baer was interested in history, current events, and classical music and is remembered for a wry sense of humor. He is survived by wife Shirley, one daughter and one granddaughter.

Charles J. Mailman, ’59
Corona Del Mar, Calif.
April 26, 2004
After medical school, Dr. Mailman interned in Santa Barbara before serving a residency in dermatology at Boston City Hospital and a year at Duke University. He returned to California in 1964, setting up practice in Newport Beach where he practiced for 39 years. He is survived by wife Sue and two sons.

Ian R. Anderson, ’62
Basye, Va.
November 6, 2005
Dr. Anderson was born in London and immigrated with his family to America in 1936. After medical school graduation he received training at South Baltimore General Hospital, served as chief resident of surgery at Church Home and Hospital in 1968, and chief resident in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in 1969. He returned to Baltimore the following year and began a private general surgical practice. In 1987, Dr. Anderson retired from private practice and, until 1994, held several positions including physician advisor to the Maryland State Health Department Division of Licensing and Certification, regional medical director at Delmarva Foundation, surgeon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, and physician-in-charge at Chesapeake Medical Specialists. In 1994, he began focusing on wellness, smoking cessation, and weight loss, and he opened wellness practices in Owings Mills and Reisterstown. From 1976 to 1982, he was active in the Baltimore City Medical Society and served as president in 1977. He also served as a Lt. Colonel in the Medical Corp of the Maryland Air National Guard from 1985 to 1995. He enjoyed sailing, skiing, and raised Doberman Pinschers. Dr. Anderson is survived by three children and two grandchildren. His two marriages ended in divorce.

Francis J. Burke, ’62
Narragansett, R.I.
September 13, 2005

Alfred S. C. Ling, ’62
Princeton, N.J.
September 13, 2005
Dr. Ling developed a lifelong interest in biomedical research while in college at Princeton University. In medical school, he worked on a chemical substitute for electric shock treatment of schizophrenia. Upon completion of his medical degree, he trained in internal medicine at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. During this time Dr. Ling continued his studies on the effects of different drugs on brain metabolism, as well as the effects of thyroid glad function on brain cholinesterase activity. Appointments included associate professor of biochemical pharmacology at the Rockefeller University and senior physician at the Rockefeller University Hospital, and vice president for clinical research at Wyeth Research. During his career, Dr. Ling was responsible for the approval of several major new drugs including Lioresal, Cibacalcin, Capoten, Corgard, Orudis, Sectral, Surmontil, Cerubidine, Cordarone, Deponit, and Isordil. He also maintained a private practice with his brother specializing in endocrine disorders. Dr. Ling served on the council of the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, the regents of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, and chaired the biomedical section of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He is survived by wife Helen, three children, and five grandchildren.

Hattie Mae Leath-Gaines, ’76
Baltimore, Md.
March 17, 2004

Faculty

Barbara Hulfish, MD
Baltimore, Md.
October 31, 2005
Born in Alexandria, Va., Dr. Hulfish received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1952 after receiving an undergraduate degree from American University in 1944. She completed post-graduate training at Johns Hopkins before joining the faculty at Maryland in 1958, holding joint appointments in neurology and psychiatry. After retirement in the 1980s, she maintained a private neurology practice in Berlin, Md., and remained active in the Maryland State Medical Society. She was a classical musical enthusiast and in the 1950s volunteered as a program scheduler for radio station WBJC. Dr. Hulfish was a member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the choir at Govans Presbyterian Church. Survivors include one niece, one nephew, several great-nieces and great-nephews, and cousins.

Merrill J. Snyder, PhD
Baltimore, Md.
November 2, 2005
Dr. Snyder earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the Univer-sity of Pittsburgh, and during World War II studied rickettsial diseases while serving in the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Maryland before joining the medical faculty in 1949 as a member of the infectious diseases group. His expertise and enthusiasm for teaching medical students, house officers, and fellows were helpful in organizing and promoting Maryland’s infectious diseases program. He collaborated with Theodore E. Woodward, ’38, chairman of the department of medicine, in researching typhoid fever, cholera and malaria, and together they conducted a study of vaccine efficacy at the Maryland House of Correction. Dr. Snyder also conducted studies in Pakistan, Chile, and Mexico City. He was the author of numerous scholarly papers, reviewed books for the New England Journal of Medicine, and was an associate editor for the American Journal of Epidemiology. He received the Barnett L. Cohen Award from the Maryland chapter of the American Society for Microbiology in 1973 for contributions in the field of microbiology. Dr. Snyder retired from Maryland in 1984. He enjoyed music, theater, photography, and performing magic tricks for family and friends. He is survived by wife Muriel, three daughters, and eight grandchildren. His son Merrill Lawrence died in 1949.