ERNEST APRIL

APRIL--Prof. Ernest. Professor Ernest April, retired director of Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons Clinical Anatomy course, died June 6, 2021. He was 81. In his 47 years at P&S he trained generations of academic leaders in medicine. The textbook he authored, Clinical Anatomy, was the staple text at many academic institutions. His groundbreaking original research, published in Nature, demonstrated that striated muscle is best described as a liquid-crystalline structure. Ernie humanized the teaching of anatomy by focusing on biological function and clinical relevance. He charged his students with learning from and caring for the gifted body that had been placed into their custody. Students came to respect this extraordinary gift both as a teacher and as their first patient. In that spirit, he established the first Anatomy Memorial Service in the mid 1970s to honor the lives of donors and as closure for the students. As a lifelong community servant, he served as a volunteer fireman in Rockleigh, NJ where he was Captain and Fire Chief from 1987 to 2002. He was a Councilman for the Borough of Rockleigh, a member of the planning board, the zoning board, Commissioner of Public Safety, Chairman of the Park Commission, and Director of the Office of Emergency Management. Born in Salem, MA, He attended Tufts University ROTC and Columbia University. He served from 1961-1963 as anactive-duty officer in the Navy and discharged from the reserves as a Lieutenant in 1971. Ernie was an avid sailor and skier. He is survived by his wife Dr. Lauren Helm, his son Geoffrey April and granddaughter Iris April.