Robert G. Ellison M.D.

A TRIBUTE
Robert Gordon Ellison, MD (December 4, 1916 - January 8, 2006)

Robert G.  Ellison, MD was born in Millen, Georgia, December 4, 1916, and received his undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University. He finished medical school at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) in Augusta where he also served his internship and residency in general and thoracic surgery. After a fellowship in Cardiopulmonary Physiology at Bellevue Hospital in New York, he returned to his Alma Mater, the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, where he was to remain on the faculty for the reminder of his academic career. He rose through the academic ranks to become the Leon Henri Charbonnier Professor of Surgery in 1973 having served as the Chief of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery from 1955 until his retirement in 1987. The seventh President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Dr. Ellison died on January 8, 2006 after a lengthy illness.

His numerous accomplishments while at the Medical College of Georgia included performance of the first open heart surgery in Georgia in 1956. He received many teaching awards and, most recently, in 2005, he and his wife of nearly 61 years, Dr. Lois Ellison, were awarded the MCG Vessel of Life Award for their contributions to research and education.

Since he was a founding member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and possessed an intense interest in history, he served admirably as the Society’s Historian. He was a stickler for detail and reading through much of the material that he contributed to the Historian’s files gives an insight into his personality and dedication to any assigned task. Invaluable to the preservation of the history of the evolution of the Society were some of his publications – “Significant Events in the History of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons” (his Presidential Address, 1972) ; “The Society of Thoracic Surgeons: The First Twenty Years” (1984) ; and “The Early Years” (1989).

To me, Bob Ellison was a wonderful role model and mentor. In addition to being an excellent teacher and educator, he was the consummate gentleman with as gracious an affect as anyone I have ever known – always patient and with a compliment for every minor achievement that someone might perform and always a note of appreciation for any recognition of himself, however small. He was intensely dedicated to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons as its first Treasurer for 6 years, its seventh President, and Historian from 1973 – 1992. In rummaging through his personal folder in the Historian’s file, I was struck by the poignancy of a note that Bob wrote in 2001 to President Jack Matloff in typical Ellisonian fashion expressing regret at not being able to attend the STS annual meeting after coming to all of the first 36 meetings.

The degree of respect in which Dr. Ellison was held was evident at his memorial service when the church was full of most of the faculty of MCG, friends from all over the country, and all members of a devoted and loving family. 

In addition to being a good teacher, a devoted husband and father, a superb gentleman, and one truly dedicated to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, I always considered Bob Ellison as one of my very best friends. 

W. Gerald Rainer, MD
UCHSC/St. Joseph Hospital
Denver, CO