January 22, 2001
Emory Passings
John Bostwick, director of plastic surgery in the medical school and chief of plastic surgery at the Emory Clinic and Emory Hospital, died unexpectedly at his home, Jan. 11. He was 57. Bostwick, who was scheduled to be officially named the William G. Hamm
Professor of Surgery later this month, was known internationally for his
work in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. He was instrumental in the
development and refinement of surgical techniques in which a womans
breast is reconstructed using tissue from her own body. John was such a gentleman, said Michael Johns, executive
vice president for health affairs. He was a great leader in American
medicine, a man who held the highest offices in his field. He will be
sorely missed by his family, his patients, his friends at Emory and across
the world. Bostwicks family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, contributions
be made either to the Bostwick United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 5741,
Bostwick, Ga., 30623; or the Susie Agnes Hotel Fund in Bostwick (same
ZIP code), P.O. Box 129. This historical hotel renovation was a favorite
project of Bostwick and his family. Mary Thacker Cohen,
who retired last year from the faculty and administration at Oxford, died
Jan. 11 at Rockdale (Co.) Hospital. She was 65. Cohen, a native of Dothan, Ala., earned her bachelors and masters
degrees from Emory and taught chemistry at Oxford from 1959 to 1985, when
she joined the colleges administration. In 1999 she received the
Fleming Award, presented to staff members in recognition of many years
of service to Oxford. Last fall, Cohen and her husband, Philip, were honored with the presentation
of two seats in their names in Oxfords new performing arts center,
which broke ground last fall. Dean Dana Greene called Cohen a steady force in Oxford. Marys
dedicated and love of Oxford and her support of students is a model for
us all, Greene said. Jose Luis Torres,
a 26-year-old construction worker at the Whitehead Memorial Research Building,
fell to his death Jan. 10 while working on the building. Torres, a native of Mexico who had been in the United States only three
weeks before his death, was employed by a subcontractor of Whiting Turner
construction company. I didnt know Jose Luis Torres, in the same way I dont
know many of youI regret that, said medical Dean Tom Lawley
in a memorial service for Torres held Jan. 16. But in the short
three weeks he had been in Atlanta, he had begun realizing some of his
dreams: working hard, making friends, making a new life. His death is
a great loss, a great tragedy, for him, his family and community, and
for those of you who worked with him. The Woodruff Health Sciences Center has made arrangements to send Torres body back to small town in Mexico where he was raised. Contributions can be sent to the Jose Luis Torres Memorial Fund, c/o Charles Andrews, 4th Floor, WHSCAB. |