Desmond Ryder Tivy

Sleeping peacefully, he left us on December 5, 2017 in Lenox, Massachusetts. Desmond was born on February 3, 1928, in Lusaka, N. Rhodesia, to Ryder and May Tivy.

His father was a land surveyor and his mother was a teacher of music. After five years in Africa his family returned to England, where he later attended Blundells School in Devon, and studied medicine at Kings College, London, earning his MBBS degree. He served for two years as a physician in the British Royal Air Force, stationed in Germany. He began his civilian medical career at Enfield General Hospital and at Maidstone General Hospital as a surgical resident.

In 1957 Desmond married Janet Piper, a classically trained singer. They lived in London and Kent before emigrating to the US in 1965 with their three eldest children, sailing aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth and settling in Berkshire County, MA, upon arrival. For a year Dr. Tivy was a medical resident at Pittsfield General Hospital, where also his youngest son Chris joined the family, and in 1967 he and three other physicians formed Suburban Medical Associates, a family practice in Lee, MA. From 1967 to 1997 Desmond was also physician to Boston Symphony Orchestra members and guest artists performing during summers at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA, befriending many through his impressive knowledge of classical music. He and Janet accompanied the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with conductor John Williams on its 1987 Japan tour, a memorable experience. In 1980 Desmond wrote the foreword and afterword for American fitness pioneer Bonnie Prudden's book "Pain Erasure the Bonnie Prudden Way," and collaborated as a medical consultant while Bonnie developed her approach to pain erasure called Myotherapy, a term he is credited with originating. Dr. Tivy was honored to serve for two years as President of the Berkshire District of the Massachusetts Medical Society during the 1980s. Retiring from medicine in 1997, he and Janet spent winters in Santa Barbara, CA, near their two youngest sons and their families.

Besides his wife of 60 years, he leaves sons Robert (Toni) and Christopher (Anna), daughter Catharyn (Jonathan), and six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his eldest son Matthew (Keith).

He was a kind, considerate man with a subtle sense of humor, whose lifelong interests included mathematics, puzzles, etymology, scientific literature, house design and upkeep, British comedies, and, foremost, opera and travel to Europe. He was a member of the Berkshire International Club and the editorial board of the Berkshire Medical Journal. While stationed in Germany he also trained as a small-plane pilot, a hobby he was delighted to pass on to his middle son Rob. His pride in his children's and grandchildren's accomplishments was his greatest joy. Desmond was also very proud of his ancestry as a first cousin, seven times removed, of Sir Isaac Newton, the English mathematician and physicist.

His family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center in Lenox for their untiring attention and care while he was a resident there. A life celebration will be scheduled at a later date. Desmond would be grateful for gifts in his memory made to the Volunteers in Medicine's Berkshires clinic, and the Tanglewood Music Center's fellowship program, c/o M.J. Kelly Funeral Home, 3 Main Street, Lee, MA 01238.

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