Summer 2008

In Memoriam

Alumni News accepts and publishes obituaries of Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette School of Medicine, and Marquette University School of Medicine alumni.

Gerhard D. Straus, MD ’37, of Palm Beach, Fla., died Jan. 22, 2008. He was 94 years old. Dr. Straus served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46 and then returned to Milwaukee where he practiced medicine until 1975. He specialized in ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery with a subspecialization in corrective surgery for deafness. He was Clinical Professor of Surgery at Marquette University School of Medicine and, during the 1950s, served as Chief of the ENT Surgery Service at Marquette. In 1975, Dr. Straus moved to Palm Beach and continued practicing ENT at the VA Clinic there, receiving a commendation in 1984 for outstanding service. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois. His survivors include two sons and five grandchildren. 

Robert E. Flood, MD ’46 (March), of Mequon, died April 15, 2008. He was 85 years old. Dr. Flood, a Milwaukee physician and surgeon, was a founder of the Glendale Clinic. Over the years, Dr. Flood delivered thousands of children. He was a member of the staff at St. Mary’s Hospital Milwaukee for almost 50 years. Toward the end of his career, he was affiliated with the Daughters of Charity, an international community of more than 27,000 Catholic women ministering all over the world. Dr. Flood was a veteran of World War II stationed in Trieste, Italy. An honorary member of Ozaukee Country Club, he enjoyed photography, golf and making pizza. His survivors include his wife, Mary; five children; and 14 grandchildren.

Thomas O. Affeldt, MD ’53, of Sun City, Ariz., died on Jan. 3, 2008. He was 83 years old. Dr. Affeldt had a private practice in child and adolescent psychiatry prior to his retirement. He was affiliated with Loyola Medical School and the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago for 40 years. His survivors include his wife, Alice; two sons; and two daughters.

James F. Guhl, MD ’54, of Elm Grove, Wis., died Jan. 23, 2008. He was 80 years old. Dr. Guhl completed orthopaedic surgical residencies at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee, Loyola University, Hines Veterans Hospital in Chicago and the James Lawrence Kernan Hospital for Crippled Children in Baltimore. He served as a medical officer at the DeWitt Army Hospital in Aberdeen, Md., and was discharged with the rank of captain. He began practice as an orthopaedic surgeon at St. Luke’s and St. Francis Hospitals but was intrigued by fiber optics and its use in an arthroscope. By the early 1970s, he devoted his practice full time to this approach to surgery and became one of the first in the country to practice operative arthroscopy. He earned worldwide recognition for arthroscopic surgery in foot and ankle problems, holding a patent for his invention of the ankle distractor, a device that allows surgeons to open the ankle joint for better viewing and surgical intervention. He was a founding member of the International Arthroscopy Association and the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA). As president of the AANA, he initiated the medical journal Arthroscopy and was visionary in establishing the Learning Center of the AANA, which draws surgeons worldwide for seminars on arthroscopic surgery. Dr. Guhl was Chief of Orthopaedics at St. Francis Hospital from 1983-84. His survivors include his wife, Jane; six children; and 17 grandchildren.

John R. Flanary, MD ’55, GME ’60, of Burnt Store Marina, Fla., died March 25, 2008. He was 82 years old. Dr. Flanary served for three-and-a-half years with the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific before receiving his medical degree. An OB/GYN, he worked at Olmstead Clinic in Minnesota, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee, and Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls. Dr. Flanary enjoyed sailing on both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. 

Donald B. Lindorfer, MD ’56, of Waukesha, Wis., died March 17, 2008. He was 80 years old. Dr. Lindorfer was Associate Director at St. Michael Hospital Family Care Center for 12 years, in family practice in Milwaukee for 19 years, and Assistant Clinical Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin for 19 years. His survivors include his wife, Ladine; three children; and five grandchildren.

William J. Dunn, MD ’57, of Santa Rosa, Calif, died Dec. 24, 2007. Dr. Dunn served an internship at the University of Iowa Hospital, a year of OB/GYN residency in Chicago, and finished his residency within two years at the Catholic Hospital of San Francisco. He also served in the U.S. Army. Dr. Dunn settled in Santa Rosa in 1963 and practiced for 37 years. Dr. Dunn was a residency program coordinator for many years. He was honored in 1994 for his Outstanding Contributions to Sonoma County Medicine. His survivors include his wife of 51 years, Helen; four daughters; and eight grandchildren.

Walter E. Powers, MD ’57, of Des Plaines, Ill., died Dec. 18, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Geraldine; three children; and seven grandchildren.
H. Mowat “Moe” Waldren, Jr., MD ’57, GME ’61, of Wauwatosa, Wis., died March 17, 2008. He was 80 years old. Dr. Waldren was a leading OB/GYN in the greater Milwaukee community, practicing for more than 30 years.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Suzanne. His survivors include three sons and five grandchildren. 

M. Rosalie Hogan, MD ’59, GME ’64, Fel ’68, of Elm Grove, Wis., died Feb. 6, 2008. She was 75 years old. Dr. Hogan completed her internal medicine training and allergy fellowship at Milwaukee County Hospital. She entered the private practice of allergy but later interrupted her career to raise her family. Dr. Rosalie returned to practice internal medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin for the following 13 years. She retired as an Associate Professor of Medicine because of health problems in 2001. Dr. Hogan was a staff member of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, a member of the Academy of Allergy, the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine and the Walter Zeit Fellowship of the Medical College. Her survivors include her husband, Walter Hogan, MD ’58, Fel ’64; four children; and three grandchildren.

David Joseph Farrell, MD ’79, of Porterville, Calif., died April 29, 2008. He was 53 years old. David was a general surgeon in the Milwaukee area for many years and held leadership roles at both St. Luke’s Medical Center and West Allis Memorial Hospital, where he was the President of the Medical Staff for several years. David loved cooking, gardening, exercising and crafting home improvement projects. His survivors include four children.