Daniel M. Philbin

1935 - 2021

Daniel M. Philbin
Dr. Daniel M. Philbin, a prominent Boston anesthesiologist and long time resident of Sherborn, MA, died Saturday, August 14, 2021 after a short illness at the Meadows, in North Andover. He was 86.
Born June 2nd, 1935 in Dunmore Pennsylvania to Leo P. Philbin and Josephine M. (Barrett) Philbin, he was raised in Milford, CT with 8 siblings. He was educated entirely on merit scholarships at the Fairfield Preparatory School, Duquesne University, and the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. After completing his internship in 1961, he served a tour of duty from 1962 to 1964 in the United States Navy as a Lieutenant in the Medical Corps, and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1966.
He completed his residency training at Columbia University in New York, where he served as Chief Resident and as an NIH post doctoral fellow. He subsequently joined the faculty at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1971 and ultimately directed its section of cardiac anesthesia in the 1980s and early 1990s. He was a Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, and a visiting professor and fellow of Magdalene College, Oxford. He finished his career as the Academic Vice Chairman of the anesthesia department at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester.
During this time he authored 70 scientific papers and 20 chapters to medical texts, and was a recognized authority on the hemodynamic and hormonal responses of cardiac surgical patients. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology, for which he served as an oral examiner for 20 years, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the Royal Society of Medicine, and a founding member of the Association of Cardiac Anesthesiologists, for which he served a term as President. He also belonged to the American Physiological Society, and sat for nine years on the editorial board of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. He trained a generation of cardiac anesthesiologists currently practicing throughout the world, and his research, which continues to be widely cited in medical journals to this day, brought him international prominence in his field.
Dr. Philbin was pre-deceased by his wife of 54 years, Patricia C. Philbin (nee Flynn) of Chicago. He is survived by two sons, Patrick F. Philbin (Anita) of McLean, VA, and Daniel M. Philbin, Jr., MD of Warwick, RI, and 5 grand children: Timothy E. Philbin (24), Peter N. Philbin (21), Patrick J. Philbin (10), Elizabeth M. Philbin (8), and Madeleine L. Philbin (8).
He was interred in a private ceremony at Ridgewood Cemetery in North Andover on August 18th. Donations in his memory can be made to the Mary Knoll Society: https://maryknollsociety.org/. To send an online condolence, please go to www.breenfuneralhome.com.