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Dr. Lewis
J
Eugene Lewis Jr., M.D., a pioneer of pediatric surgery, passed away on July 27 at the age of 96. He was chief of pediatric surgery at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center from its opening in 1956 through his retirement in 1983. Dr. Lewis grew up in Mountain Grove, Mo., and graduated first in his class from the University of Missouri before receiving his medical degree from Harvard University. During World War II he served as a U.S. Army surgeon with the Harvard Surgical Unit and cared for patients during the invasion of Normandy and the battles
Dr. Lewis married Betty Brooks McKee, one of the first women to graduate from Harvard’s School of Architecture. When Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital for Children opened its doors in 1956, Dr. Lewis transferred his practice from St. Mary’s Hospital. “At that time pediatric surgery was a fledgling specialty and Gene Lewis, along with a handful of other dedicated pediatric surgeons, mostly trained by Robert Gross, became the founding fathers and established the specialty of pediatric surgery with a sound clinical and academic footing. He was truly a pioneer
Dr. Lewis “was a Glennon star and is one of the main reasons why Glennon is here today.” of Market-Garden and the Bulge. He was awarded the Bronze Star, five Battle Stars and a commendation ribbon for creating one of the first surgical intensive care units in the Army Medical Corp. After the war he was assigned to the White House as assistant physician to President Harry S. Truman. After his military discharge, Dr. Lewis completed his training under Robert E. Gross, M.D., the father of American pediatric surgery, at Harvard’s Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He then was recruited by C. Rollins Hanlon, M.D., chairman of the surgery department at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Before leaving Boston to become Missouri’s first pediatric surgeon,
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and made enormous contributions which have benefited many neonates, infants and children in this area,” says Andrew Fiore, M.D., a student of Dr. Lewis and now director of cardiothoracic surgery at SSM Cardinal Glennon and professor of surgery at Saint Louis University. Dr. Lewis “was a Glennon star and is one of the main reasons why Glennon is here today,” says William Keenan, M.D., former director of neonatology at SSM Cardinal Glennon and professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “He was a war hero, physician to the president, a surgical pioneer. He brought specialized surgery for children to St. Louis. He was a passionate, dedicated
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physician and was known for being a wonderful, kind man in his personal life.” “He was a great surgeon technically,” Fiore says. “His book, ‘Atlas of Infant Surgery’, is one of the classic books published on pediatric surgery.” In 2008, the J. Eugene Lewis Jr., M.D., Chair in Pediatric Surgery was funded by the Board of Governors of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation. The chair is held by Dennis W. Vane, M.D., M.B.A., chief of the division of pediatric surgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and surgeonin-chief of SSM Cardinal Glennon. Dr. Lewis is survived by three children, James E. Lewis III; Linda McCoy and Elizabeth Panke; grandchildren Rachel and Jamie Lewis, Whitney, Sean, Andrew and Lindsey McCoy; and Samuel and Beth Panke; a sister, Mildred Settlage; and a sister-in-law, Margaret Jean McKee. His wife, Betty Brooks McKee Lewis, died in 2006.
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