Dr. John S. Garvin
Winnetka resident Dr. John S. “Jay” Garvin, professor emeritus and the founding head of the Department of Neurology at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine, died at home November 28tfrom heart complications. He was 95.
Dr. Garvin was a highly regarded physician and educator, making lasting contributions to the field of neurology. “Dr. Garvin was to become one of the most gifted neurological clinicians in America and among the first academic university-based neurologists in Chicago,” said Dr. Garvin’s former student and fellow professor Dr. James Stone. “He displayed ideal temperament and represented the highest ethical conduct and professionalism imaginable.”
Born February 23, 1921 in Windsor, Illinois, a small farming community about 200 miles south of Chicago, Dr. Garvin earned his A.B., B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of Illinois. After graduating in 1945 and a residency at the Illinois Neuropsychiatric Institute, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1946-48, specializing in neuropsychiatry; he then spent a year in England as a Fulbright Fellow at the prestigious National Hospital, Queen Square, London. Upon returning to Chicago held a number of neurology teaching and clinical positions at the University of Illinois during the next several decades, also served as senior attending neurologist and consulting neurologist at several Chicago area hospitals including Presbyterian/St. Luke’s, St. Francis, Mercy and the Veteran’s Administration West Side Hospital.
Named to head the newly created UIC College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology in 1970, a position he would hold for the next 18 years, Dr. Garvin helped the department emerge as one of the nation’s premier academic neurology programs with an emphasis on treating epilepsy, neuromuscular diseases, strokes, and neurologic diseases in children. A highly skilled clinician and teacher, Dr. Garvin was recognized in his long tenure and profession as the “neurologist’s neurologist” and often treated his fellow doctors.
As a recognized leader in the field of neurology, Dr. Garvin treated many notable patients and was asked to examine serial killer John Wayne Gacy prior to his murder trial.
“Dr. Garvin was a stimulating presence, conducting a very impeccable neurological examination,” said Dr. James Stone, currently chief of neurosurgery at Manhattan Veteran’s Administration Hospital and professor of neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center. “You have to realize that in the days before MRI and other imaging, examinations were vital to localize problems within the nervous system, determining the size and location of a lesion,” he said. “Much of Dr. Garvin’s distinctive manner was gained during his study in London with European neurological experts.”
In 1996, his sisters, Eleanor Skinner and Mary Ann Coleman, endowed the John S. Garvin Professorship of Neurology, currently held by Dr. Jeffrey Loeb, the head of the department of neurology at the UIC College of Medicine. “Dr. Garvin and his family have created a lasting legacy in Chicago that will support outstanding neurological education, cutting-edge research, and compassionate clinical care for patients with neurological disorders for years to come,” notes Dr. Loeb. “I am humbled by the opportunity I have had to get to know Dr. Garvin and his poignant intellect, and thankful for his steadfast support.”
He was a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Neurology, American Epilepsy Society, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Illinois State Medical Society, Chicago Medical Society and numerous other professional and academic organizations.
Dr. Garvin was previously married to Elizabeth Harding Stone, and is survived by his second wife of 38 years, Suzanne Spencer Faurot; his sister Eleanor Skinner; his three children, Mary, Bruce and Elizabeth Garvin; his stepchildren Rob Faurot, Sandy Faurot and Suzanne Faurot Barton, and seven grandchildren.
Services will be held at 3:30 p.m. on December 28 at Kenilworth Union Church, 211 Kenilworth Ave., Kenilworth.
Donations in Dr. Garvin’s memory can be made to Kenilworth Union Church and the University of Illinois College of Medicine Department of Neurology.
Submitted by the family of Dr. Garvin