Dr. James Barry Hanshaw

1928 - 2019

Dr. James Barry Hanshaw, 90

BOYLSTON - Dr. James Barry Hanshaw, age 90, died peacefully at his home in Boylston, MA on December 19, 2019. Dr. Hanshaw was loved by all who knew him. He is survived by his beloved wife, Marian Christine, his children, Thomas, Lee, Liza, John, and Margaret, and his son-in-law Paulo André. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Sarah, Margaret, and Isabel, and by his siblings, George and Jean. His sister Betty died in 2018.

Dr. Hanshaw was born on December 23, 1928 to Kathryn Frances (Reilly) and George Lee Hanshaw in Scarsdale, NY. He was raised in White Plains and attended White Plains High School.

Dr. Hanshaw received an A.B. from Syracuse University in 1950 and an M.D. from SUNY Syracuse Medical School in 1953. He then served in the United States Air Force as a Medical Officer at Cincinnati General Hospital and at the USAF Hospital in Tachikawa, Japan.

In 1956, Dr. Hanshaw did his residency in Pediatrics at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester. Two years later, he became a postdoctoral fellow in Virology at the Harvard University School of Public Health in the laboratory of the Nobel Laureate Dr. Thomas Weller. Dr. Hanshaw's work focused on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV). He became a Lecturer in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in 1975.

Dr. Hanshaw returned to the University of Rochester Medical School in 1960 to join the Department of Pediatrics, where he worked for 15 years. He was awarded a 10-year grant from the NIH in 1962 to conduct research on CMV and its effects on neoplastic disease, renal transplantation, and intrauterine life. He helped to develop a screening procedure for CMV, which can cause deafness and developmental disabilities in children.

In 1971, he served as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Hospital for Sick Children, and the Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street, London, where he worked with Dr. Alistair Dudgeon, a leading British virologist. They co-authored the book Viral Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn in 1978.

When Dr. Hanshaw returned to the United States, he became Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Genesee Hospital, a University of Rochester affiliate.

In 1976, he became the founding Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. In the years that followed he served as Dean, Provost, and Interim Chancellor of the Medical School. In 1991, he received an honorary degree from SUNY Syracuse Medical School for scholarship and teaching excellence. He was also on the editorial committee of the Massachusetts Medical Society, publisher of The New England Journal of Medicine.

After Dr. Hanshaw retired from medicine in 2010, he pursued a second career in art. His paintings were exhibited in more than 17 shows and his work appeared in the Guild of Boston Artists Juried Regional Competition in 2009.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Friday, December 27, 2019 at the BRITTON-SHREWSBURY FUNERAL HOME, 648 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA. A 2:00 PM funeral Mass will follow at St. Mary of the Hills Church, 630 Cross Street, Boylston, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hanshaw Pediatric Society (Office of Advancement, UMass Medical School, 333 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545; checks may be made out to UMMS – Hanshaw Pediatric Society) or to the Leopold Schepp Foundation (950 3rd Ave, Suite 3100, New York, NY 10022). To leave a note of condolence or to view Barry's "Book of Memories," please visit www.brittonfuneralhomes.com