DR. RAZA ALI DILAWARI

Dr. Raza Ali Dilawari of Memphis, Tennessee died peacefully on September 18, 2011 at 3 p.m. at home surrounded by his loving family and friends. Dr. Dilawari spent 35 years in Memphis and touched countless lives as the premier surgical oncologist in the MidSouth. Through his practice and teaching, he was able to establish many families in his community beyond his family at home. He was held in the highest esteem for his command of surgical oncology, surgical skills, compassion for his patients, work ethic, and honesty. Dr. Dilawari came to Memphis in 1976. He was born on September 28, 1946 in the famed Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan to Sadiq Ali and Zakia Dilawari. He was schooled at the Central Model School Government College, and completed his medical education in 1968 from King Edward Medical College, all in Lahore, Pakistan. He did his surgical residency at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York. He did his surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Rochester at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York and at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. He was appointed an Assistant Professor of the Department of Surgery at the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences in Memphis, TN in 1978. He started his surgical oncology practice at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis and at Methodist Central Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. His hard work and skill made this practice very successful and allowed him to make a difference in thousands of lives in the MidSouth and beyond. At the time of his passing, he was the Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences and the Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Methodist University Hospital. His areas of academic interest were in the fields of breast cancer, melanoma and hepatobiliary malignancies, and he was the author of more than one hundred peer-reviewed publications. He represented University of Tennessee Cancer Institute on the NCCN Melanoma/Thyroid/Colorectal Cancers. Significantly, he was the recipient of the 2005 Living Award from the Methodist Healthcare Foundation. Dr. Dilawari’s most lasting contribution to our community is his teaching and mentoring of medical students and surgical trainees at UT College of Medicine and the Methodist Hospitals of Memphis. He led or contributed to the training of over 200 surgical residents, who he considered his second family and the pride of his career. It is this dedication to his students that allowed him to help many more patients than he could have on his own. His third family was the patients he cared for. He gave his all to his patients and received endless gratitude and love from. It is not difficult to find Memphians who have a story about how he helped them or a loved one. His fourth family was all of his colleagues and friends. Memphis opened its arms to accept him, and he gave his community his all. He was proud to be one of the first Pakistani physicians in Memphis and that there are now over 300 physicians of Pakistani descent excelling and contributing to the community he loved. He was the giant oak to which Pakistanis in the medical community and Memphis look towards and drew inspiration from. He also gave back to the Muslim community and served as one of the founding members of The Muslim Society of Memphis and helped construct the Al Rasool Center here in the city. He was a voracious reader with broad interests, a tennis player and fan, and a wine aficionado. He had a deep interest in the Sufi philosophy, literature and practice. He was also a passionate and extremely knowledgeable student of Islamic history and theology. His first family that he loved with all of his heart is his wife of 38 years, Bushra A. Dilawari, his five children, Asma, Amina, Mariam, Asad, and Saba Dilawari and his granddaughter Zara and his sons-in-law Daniel Pellegrom and Erik Morrison. He also left behind two sisters Tanveer Abidi and Tauseef Dilawari and his cherished extended family and close friends. UT College of Medicine has established an endowed chair of surgical oncology in his honor and memory. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the endowment fund can be made to: Raza A. Dilawari, MD, FACS Endowed Professorship University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences Development Center and Alumni Office 62 S. Dunlap, Hyman Building, Suite 500 Memphis, TN 38163. Memorial Park Funeral Home, "Behind the stone wall", 901-767-8930. Condolences may be offered at www.MemorialParkOnline.com