Dr. Harris B Shumacker

Dr. Harris B Shumacker, Jr. B.S., M.A., M.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), F.A.C.S., F.RC.S. (Hon.), died late Friday evening in Gladwyne, PA. He was 101. Born May 20th, 1908, his accomplishments were far too numerous to summarize properly here. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University, he served in faculty positions at Yale, Johns Hopkins, Indiana University and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. One of the pioneers of heart surgery, he authored some 600 professional articles and papers, eight books and monographs, and chapters in approximately 40 textbooks. A member of 49 professional societies, often in key leadership positions, Dr. Shumacker advanced the cause of medicine throughout the world. A recent nominee for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he was still actively writing when he died. An inventor of many of the procedures used routinely to save lives today, he was an expert in such disparate areas as frostbite and the early development of the artificial heart. He also loved serving his nation, first as an Army officer and later as Consultant to the Surgeon General, where he was instrumental in putting the first monkey into space. He was a master teacher and visionary, and impacted the lives of thousands.

Preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Myrtie, Dr. Shumacker leaves behind his wife, Grace, his sons Peter and James, their wives Judy and Martha, and their children Kristen Cook, Andi Wichman, Shelley Dobbins, Randy Cook, Gretchen McGill and Nathaniel Shumacker. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m., May 20th, 2010 at All Souls Unitarian Church in Indianapolis, and contributions may be made to the Myrtie Shumacker Lecture Fund at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.