DukeMed Alumni News
Winter 2008

Class Notes: 1950s

Wilma Jeanne C. Diner, MD’50, says she is enjoying retirement and recently vacationed in Oregon with her three children, two grandsons, daughter-in-law, and son-inlaw.
She has three grandsons. One is a cum laude graduate of the University of Washington,
another is a junior at the University of Oregon at Eugene, and the third is a first-year
student at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. Diner lives in Little Rock, Ark.

George O. Chase, T’47, MD’51, and his wife Ruth celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. They now live in Raleigh, N.C., near their son Dick, T’76.

Wilmer J. Coggins, MD’51, DC, organizes a group of 15 retired doctors and other professionals who meet monthly to discuss various topics of interest with an informed speaker. In the past few years he has published two books including A Special Kind of Doctor: A History of the College of Community Health Sciences (University of Alabama Press). He and his wife Deborah R. Coggins, MD’51, live in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Earl Haltiwanger, Jr., MD’51, HS’51-’57, DC, and his wife Anne moved into a continuing care facility in Atlanta, Ga., where he says they are very happy. A year ago he experienced the onset of post-polio syndrome, which has somewhat limited his mobility.

Edward S. Whitesides, MD’51, retired since 1996, spends much of his time working on his farm in Clover, S.C. He recently acquired a three-year-old walking horse gelding and says so far “I have kept the horse between me and the ground.” He still goes on medical mission trips to Haiti, only now instead of performing surgeries he serves in an administrative role. He reports that his wife Georgeanne has had some loss of her short-term memory due to a stroke.

Spencer S. Brewer, Jr., MD’52, HS’54-’56, DC, of Atlanta, Ga., retired five years ago but still covers two clinics weekly for the Salvation Army at the Evangeline Booth College for Officer Training and the Adult Rehabilitation Center in downtown Atlanta. He and his wife Nancy celebrated their 80th birthdays in February 2007 at the Capital
City Club. The party, attended by 300 guests, was hosted by their three hildren—Celia, T’75, Spencer III, and Lisa.

Thomas E. Terrell, MD’53, HS’53-’55, and wife Eldora H. Terrell, MD’53, HS’53-’55,
are now full-time beef cattle producers in Randolph County, N.C. One of their sons is helping to market their grass-fed, heart-healthy animals. They report that like others in North Carolina, they are trying to contend with severe drought. The Terrells have six children and eight grandchildren, one a
freshman at Duke.

Charles A. James, MD’54, is retired, and along with his wife Clara “Beebe” is co-chair of a $20 million fundraising campaign to convert the cancer treatment center at Richland Memorial Hospital into a 600-bed children’s hospital. The couple has four children—three of whom are married—and seven grandchildren and live in Columbia, S.C.

George B. Skipworth, T’48, MD’54, DC, a dermatologist, moved his practice to a new
location in Columbus, Ga., and has a new partner, Garris Morgan, MD.

Jerome A. Grunt, MD’56, HS’57-’58, is still participating in research and writing journal articles. He says he enjoys being a “house husband,” reading, and visiting his 10 grandchildren. His wife Hope is active in the Kansas City Barnard College Alumni group and volunteers at Children’s Mercy Hospital. They have four grown children and live in Kansas City.

Charles A. Wilkinson, MD’56, HS’56-’58, has been retired from surgery for 12 years. He likes volunteering with Habitat for Humanity by helping to build homes. He also likes
wood turning, fishing, hunting, and visiting his children. He and his wife Ann recently celebrated their 52nd anniversary. They have three children and live in Wilmington, N.C.

Albert M. Bromberg, MD’57, HS’57-’61, DC, who retired in 2002 from his psychiatry practice, has since taken up stone sculpting and recently won a second place prize at a juried art show in Long Boat Key, Fla. He and his wife Adrienne live in Southbury, Conn.

Joseph P. Bunn, MD’57, DC, is enjoying retirement by staying active in Stephen Ministries, which trains and offers resources to congregations to equip their members to do Christian ministries in caregiving and spiritual growth. He is active on several steering committees for Winter Park Health Foundation in Winter Park, Fla., and is
completing a 10-year venture as developer of a professional office park. He and his wife of 36 years, Katherine, have four children and 11 grandchildren and live in Oviedo, Fla.

Shirley K. Osterhout, WC’53, MD’57, HS’57-’59, presented “The Life of a Woman in Medicine” for the Woman’s Club in Asheboro, N.C. She is the former director of the Poison Control Center based at Duke and lives in Durham with her husband Suydam, MD’49, PhD.

Roman L. Patrick, T’54, MD’57, HS’58-’62, DC, is enjoying retirement partly by studying classical piano and performing at charitable events. While a medical student at Duke he played the carillon in Duke Chapel, which helped to pay his tuition. He sites strong mentors like Dean Wilburt C. Davison, MD, for helping him to achieve his goals. He and his wife Evelyn, N’55 live in St. Louis, Mo.

Robert L. Smith, MD’57, DC, is semi-retired and still living in Shoreline, Wash. He recently became certified in traveler’s health by the International Society of Travel Medicine.

Alan Solomon, MD’57, DC, reports that his research grant from National Institutes of Health, “Proteins in Multiple Myeloma and Related Blood Diseases,” has been extended for another five years, making the 47-year grant one of the longest on record. He currently is a professor of medicine and director of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville. His wife Andrea Cartwright is working on her second master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. He has two sons, David and Joe, and five grandchildren.

Floyd L. Wergeland, Jr., MD’58, DC, shown in photo with family members, has become a trained docent since retiring and gives several nature tours for elementary students and adult groups. In 2006 he contributed to the opening of the Chula Vista Nature Center’s Wergeland Family Discovery Center. He also is a trustee for the city of Chula Vista, Calif., a member of two nature center boards, and is active with Rotary International. He lives in Bonita, Calif., and his children and grandchildren all live in Eugene, Ore.

George A. Engstrom, MD’59, HS’59-’62, has been retired from active practice since 2003 but still runs a health clinic at the Stonewall Jackson Juvenile Detention Center in Concord, N.C. He also works at a free community clinic and in 2008 plans to work some at the local health department. He and his wife Linda, N’60, have four daughters—Elana, T’96, Lisa, Andrea, and Clarissa—and live in Concord.

Melvin Litch, Jr., MD’59, HS’59-’60, is a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee’s Hamilton Eye Institute. He enjoys playing golf and recently lowered his golf handicap to 17.2. His wife Debbie has spent the past three years as executive producer of Theatre Memphis, one of the largest community theatres in the country. They live in Germantown, Tenn.