Griffith R Harsh III

1924 - 2019

Griffith Rutherford Harsh, III died on September 18th at the age of 95. He was born January 9, 1924 in Birmingham, Alabama. His Christian faith was the bedrock of his life. He was educated in the Birmingham public schools through grade nine and was an Eagle Scout. He attended preparatory school at Northwood School, Lake Placid, New York, and was graduated from Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Medical School. Post graduate education included surgical residency at Vanderbilt, followed by a neurosurgical fellowship at Boston Children's and Peter Bent Brigham Hospitals as well as neurosurgical residency at Barnes Hospital, Washington University, St. Louis. Military service included medical training in the Army Specialized Training Program during WW II, and Neurosurgical Staff Service at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he was deployed to the Tokyo Army Hospital. From there, as Captain and Commanding Officer, he led the First Provisional Neurosurgical Detachment into Korea, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. After a period of private neurosurgical practice in Birmingham, Alabama, he entered full-time academic practice as Professor and Director of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School. During his 35 years of affiliation with UAB, he served as chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, chairman of the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Neurosurgery and President of the Neurosurgical Society of Alabama and of the Southern Neurosurgical Society. In 1952, Griff married Craig Kilpatrick of Sweetwater, Tennessee, the site of her family farm to which they retired in 1991. He greatly enjoyed farming at his in-laws' farm in Sweetwater, and at his in Philadelphia, TN. In earlier years, a favorite vacation locale was Pensacola Beach, where fishing in the Gulf was a regular activity. Traveling was also important to Griff, whether trekking in the Himalayas or skiing (well into his 80's) with family and friends. A long-time member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, he also attended and was an elder of Christ Presbyterian Church in Sweetwater. He was a founding member of the Christian Medical Ministry of Alabama and served on the Board of Directors of Southeastern Bible College. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Sibley Harsh and Griffith Rutherford Harsh, Jr., his sister Jane Harsh Glasser (John), and his grandson Taylor Milton Harsh. He is survived by his wife of 67 years Craig Kilpatrick Harsh and their three sons, Griffith Rutherford Harsh, IV (Meg) of Palo Alto, CA, Milton Kilpatrick Harsh (Allison), and Carter Sibley Harsh (Cindy) of Birmingham, AL. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Griffith R. Harsh V, William Whitman Harsh (Julie), Catheryne Kilpatrick Harsh, Carter Sibley Harsh, Jr. (Hutton), and Graham Hammond Harsh, and a great grandson, Whitman Craig Harsh. A memorial service will be held in the Sanctuary at Briarwood Presbyterian Church at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 22nd. The family will greet friends in the foyer outside the Sanctuary after the service. Gifts in his honor may be directed to Briarwood Presbyterian Church (2200 Briarwood Way, Birmingham, Alabama 35243), Christ Presbyterian Church (140 Starrett Street, Sweetwater, Tennessee 37874), the Department of Neurosurgery of the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB Gift Records, 1720 Second Avenue South, AB1230, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0112), or a charity of the donor's choice.