John W. Rippon

John grew up in Toledo, Ohio and showed scientific promise at an early age, winning a Westinghouse Scholarship for Science. John received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1959.

After teaching at Loyola University for a few years, he became a professor at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, where he taught and researched from 1963-1989. Besides overseeing the mycology diagnostic lab there, he taught courses in medical mycology, medical microbiology, and dermatology.

Dr. John W. Rippon was among the foremost medical mycologists of our time, having written seven books and more than 80 scientific publications on medical mycology.

Dr. John W. Rippon was among the first mycologists to see the importance in fungi that infected people, and he also is an excellent field mycologist; a very rare combination of qualities.

Dr. John W. Rippon was honored by the Mycological Society of America as a Distinguished Mycologist in 1996, and was awarded the Rhoda Benham Award in Medical Mycology by the Medical Mycological Society of the Americas in 2009.

Dr. John W. Rippon was much sought after throughout the world for his expertise, lecturing in a “couple dozen” countries on every inhabited continent, including almost every country in South America.

Dr. John W. Rippon’s recognition of the value in studying medically important fungi became very important in the early 1980’s because of the combination of several immune suppressive issues: the AIDS epidemic became apparent and various clinical therapies such as corticosteroid therapy and chemotherapy became available; thus the incidence of human fungal infection skyrocketed.

Dr. John W. Rippon wrote the first edition of Medical Mycology the pathogenic fungi and the pathogenic actinomycetes in 1974, even before the AIDS crisis had started, with more people becoming susceptible to fungal infections.

By the time the third edition of Medical Mycology was published in 1988, it had become the gold standard for medical mycology throughout the world, translated into Spanish and Polish (and pirated into Chinese).

Because of Dr. John W. Rippon polished writing style and meticulous attention to detail, his textbook, long out of print, is still coveted by medical professionals and mycologists.

Dr. John W. Rippon was invited all over the world as a guest professor and lecturer, because of his expertise and accomplishments.

Dr. John W. Rippon’s lectures took a potentially dry topic and made it exciting, often humorous, because of his unsurpassed knowledge and superb lecture style; he frequently made reference to fine wine, food, and his travel experiences.

Dr. John W. Rippon’s memorable lectures stimulated some students to enter the field of medical mycology. Many of his students became lifelong friends with whom he shared his joy of living

There was always time for touring, and when a host asked what he wanted to do, there were two answers: birds and wine.

Dr. John W. Rippon was a lifelong birdwatcher who identified more than 4000 species of birds as he roamed every continent, swam in every ocean and most of the seas.

Dr. John W. Rippon explored natural wonders from Iguassu and Victoria Falls, to Madagascar and the Milford Track; rode railroads including from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Sydney to Perth Australia (the Ghan) and Mexico’s Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre).

Dr. John W. Rippon spent much of his free time leading birding expeditions, flower walks, mushrooms walks and lecturing about natural history. In his last 10 years he wrote online book reviews on vertebrate paleontology and DVD reviews of opera performances. He was a dedicated oenophile, with an expert level of knowledge about wines all over the world.

Dr. John W. Rippon was a true Renaissance Man: Fluent in Spanish, Latin, some French, Italian and German; with expertise in field mycology, botany, birds, opera, classical music, jazz, fine cuisine, wines of the world, science, natural history, classic literature, as well as liberal and environmental issues; Dr. John W. Rippon was a dedicated oenophile with expert knowledge of the world’s wines.

We, Dr. John W. Rippon’s friends are honored to have known him - Requiescat in pace.