Harry Allen Fozzard, 83

Harry Allen Fozzard, MD, age 83, died Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at his home in Dana, NC. He was the Otho S.A. Sprague Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago.

He was born April 22, 1931 in Jacksonville, FL to the late Harry Broward Fozzard and Elise Allen Fozzard, and lived there until he went to Washington & Lee University. He then attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis and interned at Yale. He served in the US Navy Medical Corps at Camp Lejeune in 1957-59 and remained in the reserves, retiring in 1969 as Lieutenant Commander. He completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology training at Washington University and obtained his research training in cardiac electrophysiology 1963-64 at the University of Bern, Switzerland. After several years in St. Louis he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1966, where he was joint Chief of Cardiology 1971-81, Director of the Biomedical Computer Lab 1973-79, Chief of the Graduate Committee on Cell Physiology 1987-90, and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences 1990-98.

His special clinical interest was cardiac arrhythmias, and he was a pioneer in the establishment of coronary care units, use of beta blockers in management of myocardial infarction, computerized rhythm monitoring, and invasive cardiac electrophysiology. In addition to his clinical work at the University of Chicago, he taught in the Medical School, in the Biological Sciences graduate programs, and in the College. His basic research was on the biophysics of cardiac rhythm, leading to 160 experimental articles, 60 reviews and editorials, and several books. He was Vice President of the American Heart Association 1981-83, Editor-in-Chief of the AHA Journal Circulation Research 1986-91, AHA Distinguished Scientist, and member of multiple National Institutes of Health review panels. An honorary doctorate was awarded to him in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and he was a member of the US-USSR scientific exchange program in Medicine 1983-1998. In 1991 he was a Visiting Professor at Oxford University. He was elected to the honorific American Society for Clinical Research and the Association of American Physicians, and Fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Perhaps his greatest legacy in science was his mentorship of some 60 graduate students and postdoctoral trainees, most of whom now teach in universities around the world.

After retirement to Dana, he volunteered with the Free Clinic of Henderson County, Pisgah Legal Services, and the Environmental Conservation Organization. He also served on the NC State Board on Clinical Psychology. He was an enthusiastic mountain climber, a competitive sailboat racer on Lake Michigan, and recently a member of the Apple Valley Model RR Club.

He is survived by Lyn Lane Fozzard, his wife of 61 years; his two sons, Richard Fozzard and his wife, Jan of Boulder, CO, and Peter Fozzard and his wife, Elizabeth of Atlanta, GA; his four grandchildren, Dakotah Lyn and Eli Fozzard of Boulder, CO, and Andrew and Allen Fozzard of Atlanta, GA; and his brother, George Fozzard and his wife, Veronica and his nephew, Harry, all of Manila, Philippines.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lane Fund at the Western North Carolina Community Foundation, 4 Vanderbilt Park Dr., Suite 300, Asheville, NC 28803.

An online register book is available for family and friends by visiting www.thosshepherd.com. Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors and Cremation Memorial Center is in charge of the arrangements.