ALUMNI

1949

William F. Fritz (HS, medicine, 1954–55; faculty, 1956–2007), a specialist in internal medicine, died on June 11, 2024. He was 98. After graduating from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completing an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he served in the Navy during World War II. In 1955, he began a private practice on West University Parkway in Baltimore that he maintained until his retirement in 1991. He served on the active staffs of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Union Memorial Hospital.

1953

Emery C. Herman Jr. (HS, medicine, 1953–54; PGF, internal medicine, 1953–54; HS, hematology, 1958–59) died at his home on Feb. 26, 2022, at the age of 92. He began his career at the National Institutes of Health, then later took a position at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital before working as a research physician at Bassett and practicing internal medicine until his retirement.

1955

John Miller Carroll (HS, obstetrics, 1955–1956) died on Aug. 5 in Delray Beach, Florida, at the age of 95. He specialized in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and co-founded Eye Health Services. Additionally, he taught for many years at Harvard Medical School.

1958

John Cahill (HS, surgery, 1958–59; HS, pediatric surgery, 1965–66) died in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the age of 91. He lived for many years in Seattle, where he treated patients at the Swedish Hospital, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Northwest Hospital. In 1989, he became the chief of pediatric surgery for Kaiser Permanente at Santa Clara, California, serving for 10 years, until his retirement. 

1965

Alan Oestreich died on Sept. 20, 2023, at the age of 83 in Cincinnati, Ohio. For 43 years, he helped patients as a pediatric radiologist. Oestreich completed his medical degree and residency at Johns Hopkins, then served in the military at Fort Polk. He later joined the faculty of University of Missouri Medical Center and became an emeritus professor at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Gerry Saul Gotterer (Ph.D.) (PGF, biological chemistry, 1959–65; faculty, 1965–78) died at his home on June 20, 2024, of kidney disease. He was 90. After serving on the faculty and as an associate dean of students at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Gotterer became associate dean at Rush University. He was later a professor of medical education, administration emeritus and a longtime faculty member at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Henry R. Bourne Jr., a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for four decades who chronicled its rise to prominence in the 1970s, died at the age of 83. Bourne was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and made significant contributions to understanding how cells communicate. In 1969, he joined UCSF as a faculty member and served as chair of the Department of Pharmacology from 1984–92. He became professor emeritus in 2005.

1969

Robert Weinberg (HS, medicine, 1969–71; faculty, 1997–2024) died on Oct. 6, 2024, at the age of 79 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. Weinberg served on the faculty at the Wilmer Eye Institute and as chair of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

1973

William Catterall (Ph.D.) died on Feb. 28, 2024. He was 77. He was known for his contributions to modern pharmacology and his leadership at the University of Washington School of Medicine, where he chaired the Department of Pharmacology. Under his leadership, the department became ranked in the top 10 internationally and nationally. He also pioneered the biochemical investigation of calcium and sodium ion channels — molecular portals that allow the passage of ions across cell membranes.

1974

Aaron S. Fink died on June 19, 2024, in Sarasota, Florida, in his retirement home. He was the director of the surgical endoscopy program at the University of Cincinnati medical school and a professor in Emory University’s Department of Surgery, and he served at the VA Medical Center for 40 years as a chief surgical consultant.

Steven Geller (HS, internal medicine, 1985–88; PGF, internal medicine, 1985–88) died on Aug. 6, 2024, at the age of 65. He completed his residency at Johns Hopkins and later joined Howard County General Hospital (now Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center), where he rose to become president of its professional staff. In 2001, he joined Centennial Medical Group as medical director.

1975

Gary Pasternack (Ph.D.) (A&S ’71; Med ’78; faculty, 1989–2007), former director of the Division of Molecular Pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Asklepion Pharmaceuticals LLC, died on Oct. 13, 2024, from heart failure. He was known for his creative and detailed approach to science.

2021

Barbara Dietrick Friedes, 30, was struck and killed by a motorist — charged with drunk driving — while she was riding her bike in Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia. She was a chief resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she treated pediatric cancer patients as an oncology resident.

FORMER FACULTY, FELLOWS & RESIDENTS/HOUSE STAFF

Arnold Sigler (SPH ’63; HS, pediatrics, 1960–65; faculty, 1965–74; faculty, pediatrics, 1974–2024) died on Aug. 15, 2024, at the age of 89. He completed his internship, fellowship and residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he specialized in pediatric hematology and oncology. He later served as the director of the Pediatric Oncology Clinic and as a captain in the U.S. Public Health Service. During his career, he started his own pediatrics private practice, Maryland Pediatric Group. He also served as director of pediatric hematology at Sinai Hospital and taught as an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

Paul Brewer (HS, pediatrics, 1984–87) died on Aug. 21, 2024, in his home in Beaufort, South Carolina. He completed his pediatric internship and residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and a dermatology residency at the University of Virginia. He served his community in Beaufort as a dermatologist for 23 years.

To submit an obituary: visit www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/alumni/in-memoriam