Eric W. Fonkalsrud

– Eric W. Fonkalsrud It is with heavy hearts that the family of Dr. Eric Walter Fonkalsrud, of Santa Monica, CA, announces his passing on Thursday, April 6, 2017, from natural causes. A dedicated husband, father, grandfather and the doctor who saved thousands of patients' lives, he touched all of us in many profound ways. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, as the only child of George Fonkalsrud and Ella Fricke, Dr. Fonkalsrud spent his childhood years in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Seattle, Washington. He was a scholar/athlete at the University of Washington, studying pre-med, skiing on the University team, and rowing on the renowned UW rowing team, which twice earned a national championship. He attended Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed a General Surgery internship and a year of residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Fonkalsrud completed his residency in General and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. Following a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at the Columbus Children's Hospital, he joined the full-time faculty in the Department of Surgery at the UCLA Medical Center and was appointed the first Chief of Pediatric Surgery in 1965. He retired as Chief in 2000 and continued to operate until 2008. During his 36 year tenure as chief of Pediatric Surgery Dr. Fonkalsrud developed an active clinical and research program in many areas relating to infants and children. He was among the pioneers in the development of the ileoanal pouch procedure for patients with ulcerative colitis and carried out many physiological studies following this extensive operation. His group performed this operation on more than 150 children and 600 adults, one of the country's largest clinical experiences with this operation. Dr. Fonkalsrud initiated human liver transplantation at UCLA in the mid 1960's, and is a world authority on the management of congenital chest wall deformities, gastro- esophgeal reflux disease, and neonatal surgery. He has performed more than 15,000 operations, including almost 1,000 cardiac procedures. Dr. Fonkalsrud is a volunteer surgeon at the Venice Family Clinic. A consummate educator and mentor to thousands of students and residents, Dr. Fonkalsrud was so passionate about this role that he continued weekly teaching conferences with residents and students through his entire retirement and only suspended these a few months ago when his health required him to do so. Many of his mentored residents and research fellows have taken further training in Pediatric Surgery and several are now program directors. He received the annual Salzburg Award for mentorship from the American Academy in Pediatrics in 2003, as well as the Golden Apple and the Golden Scalpel awards for excellence in teaching. Dr. Fonkalsrud authored 463 publications in scientific journals, 124 book chapters, and 7 books. Dr. Fonkalsrud has served on the editorial boards of 15 major surgical journals, and was president of 9 National, Regional, and International surgical societies, including the American Pediatric Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, and the Pacific Coast Surgical Association. He has received the Mead Johnson and the John and Mary Markle Scholar awards in Academic Medicine. He was a consultant to NIH for four years and the James IV Travelling Traveling Scholar to the United Kingdom in 1971. Dr. Fonkalsrud was an Honorary Fellow of the German, Japanese, and Polish Surgical Societies. He was awarded the William Ladd Medal from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Herbert Coe Award from the Pacific Association ofPediatrics for lifetime contributions to the field of Pediatric Surgery. He is listed in "Best Doctors in America", Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. The American College of Surgeons dedicated the 2011 Surgical Forum to him for his lifetime contributions as a surgeon, investigator, mentor, and leader. He was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2003, and received the UCLA Medical Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2003. He was honored as "Man of the Year" by the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Southern California in 1999. In 2014 he received the Edward Dickson Award as the most productive Emeritus Professor on the UCLA Campus. Dr. Fonkalsrud was an avid athlete, competing in triathlons and ocean swims in Southern California, and he pursued his passion for skiing, hiking and outdoor activities that he passed on to all of his children. An Eagle Scout, he was an active participant in Troop 2 of Santa Monica where he led the Father’s Committee and where his three sons also achieved the rank of Eagle. He had a love of nature and spent many hours on his forest land in Washington and was even named Western Washington Forest Farmer of the Year in 1997. To satisfy his love of trees at home in Santa Monica he collected a stunning array of Bonsai trees, which he faithfully tended to each day. An enthusiastic traveler, Dr. Fonkalsrud had friends and worked with colleagues all over the world. One of his greatest passions was for Norway, the birthplace of his father, where he maintained close relationships with family and friends. It was important to him to teach his children and grandchildren about all of the wonderful and different cultures of the world and how much we can learn from each other. Entertaining grandchildren and young patients with magic tricks brought Dr. Fonkalsrud great joy. And he loved passing along jokes to family and friends, especially about aging….as he was aging. He was a great supporter of the UCLA Bruins and UW sports teams and loved going to games. Dr. Fonkalsrud was also a dedicated and active member of the Westwood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. The Fonkalsrud family has strongly supported charitable programs and have established student scholarships in perpetuity at Johns Hopkins, the University of Washington, and the UCLA Schools of Medicine, as well as Divinity students in the Methodist Church. Dr. Fonkalsrud was so very appreciative of the many, many people who helped him along his path and wanted to give back to the world as generously as he received. Dr. Fonkalsrud is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Peggy Fonkalsrud, his four children Eric Jr., Lynn, David and Robb, and his six grandchildren. His gentle nature and loving kindness will be greatly missed. A memorial for Dr. Fonkalsrud will be held at the Westwood United Methodist Church on May 13, 2017 at 2:00pm, followed by a reception at the church. All are invited to attend. He will be interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery at UCLA. Please visit http://surgery.ucla.edu/fonkalsrud for more information. This will honor his legacy in pediatric surgical excellence by helping UCLA to recruit and retain the best minds in pediatric surgery to support teaching, research and service for decades to come.