Charles Andrew Crenshaw M.D., F.A.C.S.

1933 - 2001

Charles Andrew Crenshaw, M.D.,F.A.C.S., a well-known surgeon and member of the Board of Directors of John Peter Smith hospital, died Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001, at his home in Fort Worth.

Memorial Services: First Presbyterian Church, 1000 Penn Street, at 3 p.m. Monday. Cremation will precede the services.

Honorary pallbearers: William A. Hamilton, B. Reid Stephens, Marshall Harris, Jim Brown, Harold B. Daley, W. Odell Hargrove M.D., Ronald Jones M.D., Frank A. Lang M.D., the members of the Fort Worth Surgical Society and the Department of Surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

Memorials: The Community Partners of Tarrant County, 501(c)3 of Child Protective Services, 2700 Ben Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76103.

Dr. Crenshaw was the Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was a member of the teaching staff for 28 years.

He was known locally and nationally for his book, "JFK: Conspiracy of Silence," which recounted his role in the treatment of John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald at Dallas' Parkland Hospital during the weekend of Nov. 22nd through Nov. 24th, 1963. It was the only book written by a physician witness that openly challenges the conclusions of the Warren Commission. His second book, released last week, entitled "Trauma Room One," includes his observations from the first book and the subsequent attack by the Journal of the American Medical Association and information released on the assassination since the release of his first book in 1992.

Dr. Crenshaw, son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Leone Crenshaw, was born Jan. 11, 1933 in Paris, Texas, where he grew up.

He began his long and distinguished career with a bachelor of science degree at SMU in 1953. He also held a master of science degree in Biology from East Texas State University in 1955. His postgraduate work on his Ph.D. was done at Baylor University Graduate Research Institute in 1956 and 1957. Dr. Crenshaw was awarded his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas in May, 1960, did his internship in Internal Medicine at Veteran's Administration Hospital in 1961, and completed his Assistant Residency in Surgery at Parkland Memorial Hospital in 1965 and his Senior Residency in Surgery in 1966. He was Board Certified in Surgery in 1969.

Dr. Crenshaw was the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital from 1966 to 1992 and was the Senior attending Staff at the time of his retirement. His staff privileges included All Saints Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center.

Dr. Crenshaw was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery from 1969 to 1973, Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery from 1974 to 1977 and a Clinical Professor of Surgery from 1977 to 1992 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Dr. Crenshaw was also the Director of the Emergency Department at JPS from 1980 to 1991 and was the Co-Program Director of the Trinity Emergency Services Association for the North Texas Congress of Governments in Erath, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Palo Pinto, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise Counties and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport from 1973 to 1974. He served as the Regional Medical Consultant for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Region VI, for Emergency Medical Services in the 5-state region of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma from 1977 to 1980. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Trauma Society and Vice-Councilor of the Texas Southwestern Surgical Society in 1987.

Dr. Crenshaw took an active role in the Tarrant County Cancer Society and was president of the society in 1972 and Director from 1969 to 1972.

Dr. Crenshaw received the Pi Alpha Theta Honorary Award, the Sigma Alpha Iota and the Delta Phi Alpha Honorary Awards. He belonged to the Beta Theta Phi Fraternity and the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity. He was also a member of the Tarrant County Academy of Science, the Advisory Committee for Tarrant County Junior College for the Operating Room Technicians Program in 1969 and 1970, and a member of the Tarrant County Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgeons in 1969. In 1971, he was a member of the Texas Medical Society Advisory Committee on the Health and Medical Aspects of Civil Defense.

Dr. Crenshaw was also a member of the Tarrant County Medical Society, the Texas Medical Society, The American Medical Association, the Tarrant County Academy of Science, the North Texas Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, the Texas Surgical Society, the Texas Historical Society, the Fort Worth Surgical Society, the Southern Medical Society, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Chirurgio Surgical Society, the International Society for Burn Injuries, the Southwestern Surgical Congress, the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association, and the International College of Surgeons.

Dr. Crenshaw was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Charter member of the American Trauma Society, the American Burn Association, and the University Association for Emergency Medical Services. In 1998, Dr. Crenshaw was honored by being appointed to the Board of Managers of John Peter Smith Hospital and served on several committees.

His accomplishments also include the publication of many papers for the professional medical journals and the presentation of many lectures at the Texas Surgical Society meetings.

Survivors: Wife, Susan Lea Crenshaw; son, Charles A. Crenshaw II; daughter, Adelaide Andrews of California; grandaughters, Adelaide Dylan Aplin and Scarlett McCarthy of California; many friends and colleagues.