In Memoriam (David Earle, Olga Haring, Roy Patterson, Herbert Sommers)
David P. Earle, MD, professor emeritus and former chair of medicine at the medical school, died January 31 in his Wilmette, Illinois, home. He was 91. Dr. Earle earned his MD degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1937 and completed residency training at New York Hospital. He was on the medical staff there and the faculty at New York University before coming to Northwestern in 1954. He served as department chair from 1965â73 and was instrumental in founding the nephrology division at Northwestern. His research included a study of a treatment for a kidney-related disease that ravaged American troops on the front lines in the Korean War. In 1975 Dr. Earle was elected a master in the American College of Physicians, its highest membership honor. Dr. Earle is survived by four sons, a sister, a brother, and 11 grandchildren
Olga M. Haring, MD, died January 25 at age 84. A longtime resident of Evanston, Illinois, Dr. Haring was born in Romania and received her MD degree from the University of Vienna in 1938. She moved to Nicaragua in 1939 where she practiced until the end of World War II, when she and her husband, Tibor, moved to Paris. She came to the United States in 1949 and Northwestern in 1956 to conduct cardiology research, covering such topics as aspirin and heart disease, cardiac malformation, and later computerized medical records. She spoke several languages fluently, which contributed to her success as a volunteer at clinics in many of Chicago’s ethnic neighborhoods. Dr. Haring is survived by her daughter, two grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Roy Patterson, MD, chief of the allergy/immunology division and former chair of the Department of Medicine, died January 6 at his Wilmette, Illinois, home. He was 75. Dr. Patterson received BS and MD degrees from the University of Michigan, where he also completed his internal medicine residency and an allergy fellowship. He joined the medical school faculty in 1960, became division chief in 1967, and served as department chair from 1973â90. At a memorial service on January 11 at the Alice Millar Chapel on the Evanston campus, colleague Paul A. Greenberger, MD, GME ’78, called Roy Patterson “a prince of a man…[who] never compromised his principles.” Added fellow allergist C. Raymond Zeiss, MD ’67, GME ’72, “[Roy] had an intellect that was intuitive, analytical, and artistic. He had a great heart for his patients, trainees, and co-workers in the allergy division.” Survivors include wife Elaine, son David, and three grandchildren.
Herbert M. Sommers, MD ’52, professor emeritus of pathology at the medical school, died December 12 in his Winnetka, Illinois, home. He was 76. Dr. Sommers graduated from the medical school in 1952 and completed residency training at Wesley Memorial Hospital, now part of Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH), and joined the medical school faculty shortly thereafter. He also served as the director of the clinical microbiology laboratory at NMH for several years. Dr. Sommers was an editor for the third (1986) and fourth (1992) editions of The Biologic and Clinical Basis of Infectious Diseases . He is survived by four sons.
