DR. RUSSELL CHESNEY

Dr. Russell Chesney, 73, died on Thursday, April 2, in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Chesney was the longtime chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a pediatric nephrologist at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. He was born August 25, 1941, and was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee a place for which he carried great affection throughout his life. He completed secondary school at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware, earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and completed medical training at the University of Rochester. He later completed his pediatric internship and residency at Johns Hopkins University, and pediatric nephrology and genetics fellowship at McGill University in Montreal. After appointments in Wisconsin and California, Russell and his wife, Joan, returned to Tennessee, where he served as professor and chair of Pediatrics. He held that role at the University of Tennessee and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital for 23 years, before stepping down as chair. He continued to pursue his interests: caring for children and their families while teaching and mentoring his trainees and fellow faculty. He also continued to lecture and oversaw a large study with the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Chesney was a respected scientist, clinician and teacher. He earned many honors throughout his career, including the American Pediatric Society’s 2011 John Howland Award, the highest honor it bestows. He earned the International Pediatric Nephrology Association’s highest honor, the Ira Greifer Award in 2010, and the Tennessee American Academy of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Those followed the E. Mead Johnson Award by the Society for Pediatric Research in 1985 and the Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Leadership Award in 2001. In 2012 the University of Tennessee Health Science Center established the “Russell W. Chesney Excellence in Pediatrics Award,” to be given each year to the top graduating student. Dr. Chesney loved life and was eclectic in his interests. He loved to travel and was a voracious reader, especially of history, literature and medicine. His affection for sports - especially the Tennessee Volunteers, Baltimore Orioles and Green Bay Packers was well known, as was his prodigious memory that allowed him to quote scores for almost anything. His enthusiasm for learning carried over into great commitment to his students and faculty. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and their three children, Karen, Chris (Sarah) and Gillian; two brothers, Thomas (Carolyn) and Allen (Betsy); two grandchildren, Will, 10, and Leo, 6; nieces and nephews, Catherine, Anne, Margaret, Duncan, Julia, David, Mac, Kate, Betsy, Alexander and James; and three cousins, John, Rhetta and Nina. The family will receive friends on Monday, April 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Research Center Lobby, 50 North Dunlap St., Memphis. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, 70 N. Bellevue Blvd, Memphis, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital (Memphis), The Baddour Center (Senatobia, MS) or St. Andrew’s School (Middleton, Delaware).