Dr. Bernard T. "Barney" Poole M.D.

Poole, Dr. Bernard T. "Barney", MD Passed away Monday, April 25, 2016. Rosary 7 p.m. Thursday; Funeral Mass 2 p.m. Friday, both at Church of the Magdalen, 12626 E. 21st North, Wichita. Born August 16, 1937, to Bernard Francis and Madge McLaughlin Poole in Cork City, Ireland, and raised in Sallins Co. Kildaire, Ireland. He attended Saint McCartans Seminary School in Co. Monaghan before going to medical school at University College Dublin, where he graduated in 1962. Before graduation, Dr. Poole joined the British Army Royal Medical Corps in order to further his training in orthopaedics a necessary though not easy move for a young Irishman in those times. After a year of internship at St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin and at St. Michaels in Dun Laoghaire, he was called up for his basic training. For the next year he was attached to a parachute brigade and was deployed on several covert missions including one is Yeman and Cyprus. In 1965, he was posted to Muenster, West Germany, and then to Singapore in 1967, where he served as acting chief of orthopaedic and war trauma services for South East Asia. At one point that took him to Nepal, where he performed over a hundred surgeries benefitting needy Nepalese people and became great friend of the Gurkhas, who would later save his life during the Indong uprising in Kuching, Malaysia, following a massacre at a field hospital where he was working. His next posting was to Northern Ireland where the IRA was known to have put a price on his head. After two failed attempts on his life, he was reposted to the Birmingham Accident Hospital. When the BARMC informed him that he was to be returned to Belfast, Dr. Poole resigned his commission and set his life on a different path. For the next nine months, he worked in Leeds as an assistant to Dr. John Charnley, who had perfected the technique of, and the prosthetics for, total joint replacement. While working with Dr. Charnley in 1972, he met a visiting orthopaedic surgeon from the U. S., Dr. Charles Wier, who invited him to come to Wichita, where no one at that time was performing total joint replacements. Following a year in Saskatchewan, Canada, Dr. Poole established a private practice in Wichita, where he remained for the next 40 years. He had fellowships with the Royal College of Surgeons in England, Ireland and Canada; was founding member of the American Trauma Society; was Chairman of the Orthopaedic Department of St. Joseph Medical Center; a clinical professor of orthopeadics at the University of Kansas Medical School; and a member of the East Side Rotary Club. Dr. Poole dearly loved the practice of orthopaedic surgery and he loved his patients, many of whom were children and grandchildren of his older patients. He grew up in the trout and salmon fishing world of Ireland, and was an avid fisherman. He was also a formidable opponent in Irish football, a sport he followed all his life. He took up golf in his 40's and quickly progressed to winning club championships, as well as tournaments throughout the state. He qualified for and played in senior amateur tournaments in the U.S., England and Scotland. He was a classical pianist and enjoyed the study of history. He is preceded by his parents, his sister Evelyn, and brothers Harry and Jim, all of Ireland. He is survived by his wife, Christine; his children, Mandy of Johannesburg, South Africa, Jean (Paul) Coughlan of Traralgon, Australia, Deirdre of London, England, Orla of Seattle, Washington, Conor (Tina) of Dundalk, Ireland, Molly of Wichita, Susannah of Austin, Texas, Adam of San Antonio, Texas; as well as 13 grandchildren. He is also survived by Mrs. Fiona Poole of Dublin, Ireland, and sisters Bridie Poole of Tramore, Ireland, Helena Stapleton of Co. Longford, Ireland, Louisa Poole of London, England, and Norah (Michael) Sharpe of Bury St. Edmins, England. The family requests no floral tributes but wishes memorial contributions be made to The Catholic Radio Network, 201 North Industrial Park Road, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024, Crestview Country Club - Junior Golf Program, Attn: Brian Ward, 1000 N. 127th St. E, Wichita, KS and The Lord's Diner, 520 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS 67214. To sign an online guestbook or offer condolences go to www.cochranmortuary.com