Paul C. Royce MD, PhD

Beloved husband of 60 years to Jacqueline (Marofsky) Royce. Devoted father of Sarah Royce & her husband David Theis, Rachel Royce & her husband Matthew Farrelly, and Ethan Royce & his wife Francine. Proud grandfather of Sophie, Aliza, Sam, Mia, Caleb, and Jacob. Loving brother of Nancy Rhoads.

Paul Royce dedicated his life to making a difference in the world as a physician, scientist, educator, and citizen. His parents’ families fled Eastern Europe to escape anti-Semitism and the winds of war, and eventually his parents landed in Brainerd, MN, a small town where, at the time, some folks still had homes with dirt floors.

The son of the pharmacist in town, Paul left home for college at age 16, received his MD from the University of Minnesota, served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy, and earned his PhD in physiology from Case Western Reserve where his research identified hormones involved in cortisol release. He left the laboratory bench to focus on medical and nursing education at the Robert Packer Hospital/Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, PA and shifted his research to clinical and public health topics including radiation and thyroid cancer.

When he became Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Duluth, he launched initiatives to bring Native Americans into health careers. He delighted in teaching medicine through reading works of literature and drama, such as the Doctor’s Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw. He also pioneered in bringing medical expertise to popular television with his award-winning public television program, Doctors On Call. He left academia to lead a major teaching hospital, Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, NJ where he innovated quality of care research on basic but neglected topics such as the prevention of bedsores in hospitalized patients.

In addition to mentoring a generation of new physicians and nurses, he gave back to his community in many ways—as a Big Brother in Atlantic Highlands, NJ, as a writing mentor at Monmouth University, NJ, serving on boards of organizations, and by marching for civil rights, against the Viet Nam War, and against nuclear proliferation.

Paul Royce deeply appreciated arts and literature. He adored Mahler and Duke Ellington. He was also a creator of arts—publishing a photograph, poetry, and Evoking Spirits: The Medium, the Merchant, and the Professor, his debut historical novel, written at age 82. He was proud of his Jewish heritage and was an active member of Central Reform Temple of Boston.

He loved the peace, solitude, and poetry of ice fishing and surfcasting. He was a member of the New York Mycological Society as well as Physicians for Social Responsibility. He took pride in completing the New York Times crossword puzzle until cognitive decline took away his ability to read. Paul loved to cook. Some of his signature dishes were bouillabaisse, paté, risotto, osso bucco, stuffed duck, and blintzes. He also delighted in making puns. Some wonder if punning might be genetic considering some of his children and grandchildren seem to be similarly afflicted. He never tired of adventures from homesteading (maple sugaring, planting trees, digging a pond), to skiing down a glacier, to cruising along the canals of the Netherlands.

Private funeral on Monday, January 9.

Memorial observance at the home of Ethan & Francine Royce in Carlisle, MA on January 10, 2017 from 7-9pm.

Remembrances may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org/) or Physicians for Social Responsibility (www.psr.org).