John Augustine Washington

Dr. Washington was born in Istanbul, Turkey, where his father, the late S. Walter Washington, of Charles Town, West Virginia, a career foreign service officer, was on diplomatic assignment with the U.S. State Department. While his father was stationed overseas, he spent much of his boyhood with his grandmother, Elizabeth R. Washington, in Charles Town.

 

Dr. Washington was an international figure in the fields of infectious disease and clinical microbiology. His work led to major advances in understanding how bacteria cause infections and how antibiotic therapy cures infections. He was the author of over 400 scientific publications, as well as more than 100 book chapters and books on infectious diseases. His major areas of interest were how infectious diseases are diagnosed in the laboratory, how specimens should be collected for infectious disease testing, and how blood stream infection testing should be performed. In addition, he pioneered new, life-saving antibiotics, and developed methods to detect antibiotic resistance by bacteria. As one of the most eminent clinical microbiologists of the second half of the 20th century, his research had broad and practical relevance at the hospital bedside and significantly contributed to the care of patients with infectious diseases.

Dr. Washington received his medical degree in 1961, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed post-medical degree residency training in clinical pathology with subspecialty training in medical microbiology at the National Institutes of Health, and joined the staff of the Mayo Clinic in 1968, as the director of the bacteriology laboratory, being appointed head of the section of clinical microbiology in 1972. In 1986, Dr. Washington joined the staff of the Cleveland Clinic as chairman of the department of microbiology and subsequently became head of the section of clinical microbiology and chairman of the department of clinical pathology, until his retirement in 2001.

 

Dr. Washington enjoyed cross-country skiing, sailing, traveling and working outside, planting trees and gardening.- He and Maaja, his wife, partner and companion of 51 years, patronized the arts for years and had season tickets to Dance Cleveland, the Cleveland Ballet, the Cleveland Orchestra, Viva Gala/Cleveland Museum of Art and other fine local institutions.- He also enjoyed politics and world affairs, and frequently used his remarkable writing talent to send pithy instructional letters to elected officials on the finer points of governance and leadership.-

 

He is survived by his wife, Maaja Washington; three children, Stephen Washington (Jennifer Thomas), Richard Washington and Mikaela Washington Bolek (Peter); and seven grandchildren, Sophie and Caroline (daughters of Steve and Jennifer), Ryland and Conner (sons of Richard), Sydney, Perrin, and Elizabeth, (children of Mikaela and Peter), all of Cleveland; and his cousin, Walter Washington, of Charles Town, West Virginia.

 

A burial service will be held at Zion Episcopal Church at a later date.

Born: May 29, 1936

Died: Sep 05, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio

About: Member of the American Society for Microbiology and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the College of American Pathologists, the American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Microbiology Trustee of the American Board of Pathology from 1989 to 1994. Editor of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, The European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and The American Journal of Clinical Pathology. Ad hoc reviewer for the Annals of Internal Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Clinical Infectious Diseases. Dr. Washington was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was the recipient of the Becton Dickinson Award from the American Society of Microbiology in 1989 for Outstanding Research Leading to Significant Applications in Microbiology. He also received an award from the South Central Association of Clinical Microbiology in 1992 for Outstanding Contribution to Clinical Microbiology and the Pasteur Award from the Illinois Society for Microbiology in 2003 in recognition of outstanding leadership in clinical microbiology. In 2000 Dr. Washington received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Mayo Clinic.

Obituary

A tribute to Dr. John Washington will be held from 4:30 - 6:30 pm on October 25, 2010 at the Cleveland Clinic.  The tribute will be followed by a reception.  The location of the tribute will be the Bunts auditorium, main floor, TT ( Jennings ) building, on the Cleveland Clinic main campus. It is suggested that you park in the P1 Parking Garage located at E. 93rd Street, between Euclid and Chester Avenues.    Please check this website for updates. Dr. John A. Washington was a leader in fighting infections Published: Friday, September 10, 2010, 2:21 PM     Updated: Friday, September 10, 2010, 2:25 PM  Grant Segall 

Dr. John Augustine Washington chaired clinical pathology at the Cleveland Clinic, developed life-saving antibiotics and made important discoveries about infections.

Washington died at Hillcrest Hospital on Sept. 5. He was 74.

He was descended from a brother of President Washington, born in Istanbul to a career diplomat and raised partly by a grandmother in Charles Town, W.Va. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and trained at the National Institutes of Health. He joined the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in 1968.

In 1986, Washington moved to Pepper Pike and became chair of the Cleveland Clinic's microbiology department. He later led the clinical microbiology section and clinical pathology department. He was also vice chair of the division of pathology and laboratory medicine.

He researched how bacteria cause infections and antibiotics cure them. He also studied methods of handling specimens, diagnosing infections and testing resistance to antibiotics.

He wrote more than 400 scientific papers and contributed to more than 100 books. He won several awards, including one from the American Society of Microbiology for outstanding research. He edited two journals and served on the boards of four others. He was a trustee of the American Board of Pathology.

Washington retired in 2001. He liked to sail, travel, garden and attend cultural events. He often sent advice to elected officials.

Survivors include his wife, the former Maaja Harms, three children and seven grandchildren. The family hopes to hold a memorial service in Cleveland soon.

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