BRIAN CURTIN

1921 - 2016

CURTIN--Brian Joseph,

on September 17, 2016 at the hospice unit of Calvary Hospital in the Bronx at the age of 95, after a long and fruitful life. He was born in the Bronx, New York, to the late James and Julia (Smith) Curtin. A 1942 graduate of Fordham University, Dr. Curtin attended medical school at New York University where he graduated in 1945. After serving an internship at St. Vincent's Hospital (New York), Dr. Curtin served in the United States Navy as ship surgeon from 1946-48 where he attained the rank of lieutenant (junior grade). After leaving the Navy, Dr. Curtin had residencies in ophthalmology at both Bronx Eye and Ear Infirmary as well as Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. He was a member of the American Board of Ophthalmology as well as the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Curtin also served as an Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at New York University, Cornell and Columbia and was a member of the faculty of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Curtin also belonged to a number of professional ophthalmological societies and academies including as President of the New York Ophthalmological Society and Chairman of the Ophthalmology Section of the New York Academy of Medicine. In addition to his successful private practice in Manhattan, Dr. Curtin served as Surgeon Director and later Medical Director at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital; Chairman of Ophthalmology at St. Claire's Hospital (New York); and Chief of Ophthalmology at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center (Bronx), among other posts. Dr. Curtin was also involved in charitable works, donating his time and skills gratis to tend to patients in the care of the Archdiocese of New York and its clergy, including Cardinal John J. O'Connor. Dr. Curtin was awarded a number of honors for his achievements as a surgeon including the Schoenberg Award from the New York Society for Clinical Ophthalmology and the Achievement Award for Medicine from his alma mater, Fordham, among others. He wrote lectured extensively both in the United States and abroad and was a prolific author of dozens of scientific articles on ophthalmology. In 1985, Dr. Curtin's textbook, "The Myopias: Basic Science and Clinical Management", was published. That scholarly work is still regarded as the authoritative treatise on the subject; in the book "Pathologic Myopia", published in 2013, it is written that "[n]o body of work has influenced and inspired the eye care field more than the published comprehensive textbook on myopia in 1985 by Brian Curtin, MD. Curtin's textbook was an awakening on the importance of the disease." Although long out of print, the textbook remains in great demand as it is widely viewed as one of the most influential treatises in the field of ophthalmology. By the time of his professional retirement in 1993, Dr. Curtin was regarded as one of the foremost ophthalmologists in the world having made significant scientific contributions to the study of pathologic myopia. In his retirement, Dr. Curtin turned his considerable talents to his two favorite hobbies, golf and painting, albeit with not as much success. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 42 years, Claire Margaret Flood. He is survived by three of his children, James Martin, Thomas Hayes (Diane) and Deirdre Claire Hommel (Thomas), and three grandchildren: Brian Theodore Hommel, John Patrick Curtin and Michael Augustine Curtin and a host of nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents and wife, he was predeceased by his son, Edward Brian Curtin, his sister, Eileen Dalton and brother, Flight Lieutenant Donald Curtin, DFC and Bar. Visitation will be held at the Fred H. McGrath & Son Funeral Home in Bronxville, New York from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Bronxville on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, at 9:45am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to The Eye Bank for Sight Restoration.