Clarence S. Weldon

">WELDON, Clarence S. ">CLARENCE S. WELDON, retired professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis died on July 17, 2006 of renal failure in San Francisco, CA. He was 77 years old. Dr. Weldon was born in Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania in 1929. He received an A.B from the University of Michigan in 1951 and a medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1955, both on academic scholarships. While a student at Johns Hopkins, he received the Borden Award and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed his surgical training at Johns Hopkins under Dr. Alfred Blalock during which time he worked with Dr. Glenn Morrow and Dr. Henry T. Bahnson. He was nominated by Johns Hopkins and received the prestigious Markle Scholarship in Academic Medicine. Dr. Weldon remained at Johns Hopkins as an Associate Professor of Surgery for several years after his residency where he wrote many papers on cardiovascular surgery. In 1968, Dr. Weldon went to St. Louis, Missouri and joined the staff of Washington University as Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery where he remained for 20 years performing heart surgery and training residents. Dr. Weldon's special interests during this time included congenital heart disease and pediatric heart surgery. He had a passion for teaching and developed lifelong relationships with many of his residents. He was a member of many surgical societies, including the American College of Surgeons and the American Association of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Weldon's former colleagues and past residents remember his dedication to teaching and the impact he had on their lives. As one colleague from Hopkins recalled, "He was a mentor, a dedicated and inspirational teacher, and one of the brightest men I have ever known. He loved teaching and contributed enormously to the training and development of many of the surgical residents at Hopkins at the time." One of his chief surgical residents from Washington University in describing the close personal relationship Dr. Weldon had with his residents said, "No other individual had as much pride and admiration for the accomplishment and success of his residents than Larry Weldon." Throughout his career Dr. Weldon authored or co-authored more than eighty papers and contributed to twenty-nine surgical texts. He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards and held visiting professorship at four universities. Subsequent to his retirement, Dr. Weldon traveled throughout the world, living in Paris, France and Sydney, Australia. He developed many lasting friendships throughout the world and will be remembered for his remarkable intelligence, quick wit and unending passion for learning and teaching, which extended well beyond his field. Dr. Weldon's survivors include his daughters, Ann Weldon Doyle of San Francisco, CA, Susan Weldon Erlinger, of St. Charles, MO and two grandchildren, Sydney Morrison Doyle and Shaeffer Weldon Doyle. Dr. Weldon's family has established a scholarship fund in his name at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Memorial contributions may be made to The Johns Hopkins University and sent to the Clarence S. Weldon Scholarship Fund, c/o The Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, 100 N. Charles Street, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21201.