Illinois Medicine

in memoriam FACULTY Roland A. Kowal, DDS '44, MD, Res '54, of Oakbrook, Ill., and Marco Island, Fla., died on April 13, 2011, in Naples, Fla. During World War II, Kowal was a dentist in the U.S. Army Air Corps, stationed in North Africa, Burma and India, where he served as dentist to the Maharaja and his family. Upon his return to the United States, he specialized in otolaryngology at the Chicago Medical School and practiced medicine for more than 40 years as an otolaryngologist and plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Kowal led the ENT department at Oak Park and Gottlieb hospitals and was president of the medical staff at Oak Park Hospital. A founding partner of the Highland Medi- cal Center in Lombard, Ill., Kowal later volunteered at charity clinics and provided expert testimony for Social Security disability matters. A fellow of both the American Col- lege of Surgeons and the Chicago Otolaryngology Society, Kowal was also a member of the adjunct ENT faculties at the College of Medicine at Chicago as well as at Loyola Medical Center. He was an avid ten- nis player and an early member of the Oakbrook Bath and Tennis Club as well as numerous tennis groups in South Florida. Kowal married his wife, Genie, in 1945. They had two sons and three grandchildren and spent their retirement winters in Marco Island, enjoying many friends who visited from around the country and the world. Robert A. Flinn, MD '59, Res '69, of East Peoria, Ill., died on May 22, 2011. He was instrumental in acquiring Illinois' first lithotripter at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, which provided noninvasive treatment of kidney stones. Flinn was a partner in Affiliated Urology Specialists in Peoria until he retired in 1995. The former president of the Peoria Medical Society, Flinn served as a faculty member at the College of Medicine at Peoria and was an active member of the College of Medicine at Peoria Alumni Associa- tion. After graduating from the Col- lege of Medicine, Flinn interned at Alvin L. Watne Alvin L. Watne '50, MD '52, MS '56, Res '58, former professor and surgery department chair at the College of Medicine in Peoria as well as president and co-founder of the Warren H. Cole Society at University of Illinois, died on July 31, 2011. Watne, of Marietta, Ga., specialized in surgical oncology for 40 years, spending most of his career at West Virginia University, where he ultimately became professor and surgery department chair. He returned to the University of Illinois and served as surgery chair from 1986–91; he also served as board member of the University of Illinois Foundation and in December 1997 established the Alvin and Diana Watne Endowed Medical Scholarship Fund, awarded to students of merit and professionalism who face unanticipated needs. After retiring from the College of Medicine, Watne became medical director for the Cancer Center of Georgia at Georgia Baptist Medical Center, now Atlanta Medical Center; upon retiring from there, he provided medical care in Shabbona, Ill., working alongside Robert Purdy, MD. A former Eagle Scout, Watne loved spending time on his farm in nearby Waterman, Ill. Watne received numerous awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship and the American Cancer Society's Eleanor Roosevelt International Cancer Fellowship for study in Japan. He served as president of both the Cole Society—a surgical alumni organization—and the Society of Head and Neck Surgeons, and as president of the West Virginia chapters of both the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons. Watne's family and friends will remember him for his sense of humor, keen intellect, selflessness and bear hugs, while colleagues will remember their respect for him as a surgeon, his congenial and hearty personality, and a concern for the "almost at the top" medical students who are not typically publicly recognized. Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Diana; children, Carrie, Matthew, Andrew and Valerie; and six grandchildren. Donations in his memory can be made to the University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall, 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801, or to the Watne Scholarship Fund by contacting the director of development at (309) 671-8481 or adv-peoria@uic.edu. ALUMNI ceded in death by the love of his life, Elsie Weiner. '38 '43 Maurice M. Ten- nant, MD '43, Res '50, of Olympia Fields, Ill., died on June 17, 2011. He was an anesthesiologist at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., helping patients for more than 30 years. Ten- nant served his country as a member of the U.S. Army and was a graduate of the University of Chicago as well as the College of Medicine. He was the beloved husband of Bernetta and the late Helen, father of four, stepfa- ther of three and grandfather of two. Tennant's lifelong interests included all things mechanical, world history, sciences and foreign languages. He loved to read historical novels, particularly those set during World War II. Iva Dean Lair-Adolph, father of five and grandfather of eight. '52 '61 Cook County Hospital, then served as a general practice physician in Oakland, Ill., for five years. He completed his resi- dency in urology at the University of Illi- nois Hospital & Health Sciences System and an additional fellowship in pediatric urology at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Flinn was a pilot and a member of both the Peoria Area Amateur Radio Club and the Fondu- lac Congregational Church in East Peoria. He enjoyed traveling, fishing, welding and tinkering with farm ma- chinery. He and his wife, Eleanor, had four children, six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Robert William Matthies, MD '61, of Prescott, Ariz., died on March 22, 2011. His long and varied medical career began with stints at the U.S. Public Health Service Indian Health Division, as a medical missionary in Haiti, as director of the student health service at Boise State University, and as medical director of the family practice residency at Boise State. Mathies also spent time in private practice in Wheaton, Ill., early in his career, and in both Spokane, Wash., and Prescott, Ariz., during the final three decades of his life. Mathies was honored as a "distinguished citizen" of the state of Idaho and as 2009 Arizona Family Physician of the Year, and he went on numer- Robert J. Adolph, MD '52, Res '56, of Cincinnati, died on Dec. 12, 2010. He was the husband of Harry I. Weiner, MD '38, of Bellevue, Wash., died on Jan. 29, 2011. Born in 1910, he was pre- 42 | WINTER 2012

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