Dr. Paul Allan Ironside Jr.

Paul Allan Ironside, Jr., MD passed away Sunday morning May 26, 2019 in Valencia, California.

Paul A. Ironside, Jr. was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1935 and was the only child born to Dr. Paul Allan Ironside, Sr. and Sarah Jane (Mahaffey) Ironside. Known to his family and friends as "Sonny," he graduated in 1953 from Haddonfield Memorial High School where he sang in the school choir and earned Varsity Letters for the Boys Track Team and also Cheerleading. He also graduated from the Mercersburg Academy (1954) where he lettered in Varsity Boys Track as well.

He attended college in Lexington VA graduating from Washington and Lee University in 1958. While in college, he was a member of the Phi Chapter of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and ran on the University's Track Team.

Dr. Ironside knew he wanted to be a surgeon from the time he was a young child. He would tell his own children stories from the time he was about 5 years old, when he would carefully perform surgery on dolls, sewing up incisions and perfecting his technique.

Following in his own father's and grandfather's footsteps, Dr. Ironside graduated from Hahnemann Medical College (now called Drexel University College of Medicine) in 1962. His father Dr. Paul Allan Ironside, Sr. graduated Hahnemann in1930, and his grandfather Dr. Allan Smith Ironside, MD graduated in 1887 when the school was known as Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania. While at Hahnemann, Paul, Jr. was a member of the Phi Chi Fraternity and Undergraduate Research Society, as well as a member of the Aesculapian Club, an Honorary Historical Medical Society.

Dr. Ironside completed his General Surgical Residence at Philadelphia Hospital in June 1967, and in June 1968, completed a Thoracic Residence at the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. In December 1968, he completed his Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Residence at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles. In 1974, he was certified as an Associate Fellow of the American College of Angiology which broaden his surgical specialty to include the circulatory system and the lymphatic system (arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels, and its diseases).

For over 50 years, Dr. Ironside worked endless hours and saved thousands of lives as a Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgeon, practicing in hospitals in several Southern California cities including Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, West Hills, Simi Valley, Calabasas, Encino, Sherman Oaks, the Antelope Valley, Palm Desert, and Desert Hot Springs.

Early in Dr. Ironside's career, he had one of the most incredible experiences as a physician  one that will continue to be told for generations. Right after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy had just won the California Democratic presidential primary and delivered a victory speech to a delirious crowd at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The 42-year-old candidate left the celebration, walking through the hotel pantry en route to a news conference when he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.

Senator Kennedy was quickly transported to the intensive care unit at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan where Dr. Ironside, a Thoracic Surgeon Resident at the time, was immediately called in to perform a tracheotomy and a blood transfusion. These procedures kept his airway clear, ensured a steady supply of oxygen to his brain, and lowered Kennedy's blood pressure. Unfortunately, Senator Kennedy's would ultimately succumb to his injuries and passed away 26 hours after he was shot.

Dr. Ironside was a member of the AOPA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, earning his Private Pilot's License in the late 1970s. He absolutely loved flying his Twin-Engine Pressurized Baron out of Van Nuys Airport all over the United States, Mexico and Canada. He also traveled extensively with his friends and family all over the world, exploring 5 of the 7 continents.

He took up golf in his 50s and soon began to play frequently with his son Paul, and his many friends. Paul had an adventurous spirit and lived life on his own terms. He most loved being around his children, grandchildren and his beloved friends. Remembering his large, loud and hearty laugh would fill bring much comfort to those who loved him.

Paul was preceded in death by his mother, Sara Jane Mahaffey Ironside; his father, Dr. Paul Allan Ironside, Sr.; grandmothers, Isabella Lockhart Ironside and Beulah C. Long Mahaffey; and grandfathers, Dr. Allan Smith Ironside and Edward Byrd Mahaffey. He is survived by his son, Paul Julian Ironside; daughters, Sabrina Lockhart Ironside and Isabella Christine Ironside Slay; and 4 grandchildren.