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VOLUME 17, NUMBER 20
DECEMBER 4, 1970
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
2 Well-Known Duke Professors Die
Dr. J. E. Markee
The former chairman of the Medical
School's Department of Anatomy, Dr.
Joseph Eldridge Markee, died here No
vember 27. He was 67.
Dr. Markee was assistant dean for
admissions of the school in addition to
serving as chairman of anatomy from
1943 to 1966. He jvas named to the
distinguished James B. Duke Professorship
in Anatomy in 1953, a post he retained
until his death. '
A native of Neponset, lll.,_ Dr. Markee
received his B. S. degree from the Univer-
'sity of Chicago in 1925 and his Ph. D.
in anatomy from the same school in 1929.
He joined the staff of the Stanford Uni
versity Medical School in California the
same year and remained there until he
was appointed at Duke.
Dr. Markee was a long-time member of
the Committee on Continuing Education
of the Association of American Medical
Colleges (AAMC), serving as its chairman
in 1962-63. He was also a member of the
Executive Committee of the American
Association of Anatomists from 1952 to
1956.
A pioneer in the use of audiovisual
materials in medical education. Dr. Mar
kee was a member of the Advisory Com
mittee on Audiovisuals of the AAMC
from 1948 to 1964 and was its chairman
from 1955 to 1962.
(continued on page two)
Dr. E. L. Persons
Dr. Elbert L. Persons, a member of the
original Medical Center faculty, died
November 24 at the Hospital at the age of
66.
He had been at work the preceding
day and shortly before he died expressed
concern that he would not be able to see
his patients again.
He came to Duke as its first resident in
medicine when the hospital opened in
1930 and remained on the staff, being
named full professor in the Department
of Medicine in 1958. He was director of
the Student Health Service from 1946 to
1966 and chief of the Rheumatism Clinic
from 1955 to 1965.
During World War II, Dr. Persons was
unit director and chief of the medical
service of the Duke University Affiliated
Medical Unit serving at Ft. Bragg, N.C.,
and later in England.
He served as president of the American
Society of Internal Medicine in 1958-59
and as president of the American
Therapeutic Society in 1962-63. From
1950 to 1959, Dr. Persons was governor
of the North Carolina chapter of the
American College of Physicians.
He was consultant to the U.S. Army
Hospital at Ft. Bragg from 1947 to 1963
and consultant to the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Fayetteville
from 1959 to 1969;
(continued on page two)
Medical Wives
Donate $25,000
For Endowment
Describing the gift as “a statement of
faith in the school, the medical students,
this club and our state," the Duke
Medical School Faculty Wives Club has
contributed $25,000 to an endowment
for medical student scholarships.
The money was added to a $10,000
grant the organization made to the
scholarship fund last year.
Mrs. Richard Lester, chairman of the
group's Fund Disbursement Committee,
told the women in making the
endowment recommendation that the
support of medical talent should be the
club's number one priority. She cited the
rising costs of medical education, the
increasing number of students at Duke,
and the reduction of federal assistance to
medical students as the prime reasons for
allocating the money.
Interest from the fund will be used for
deserving North Carolina medical
students. Already this fall, money from
the first $10,000 gift is helping to finance
the education of a first-year student.
Mrs. Lester added that the club's
ultimate goal is "to create a substantial
and truly meaningful endowment in the
not too distant future."
The contributions came .from profits
of the group's Nearly New Shoppe, a used
merchandise mart at 1801 Erwin Road.
The shop, open since April of 1968, sells
items that have been donated or
consigned with the owner receiving half
the sale price.
Announcement of the scholarhip gift
came at the wives club's annual
membership coffee and business meeting
recently.
Officers of the organization include
Mrs. Ewald W. Busse, president; Mrs.
W.K. Joklik, vice-president; Mrs. Madison
Spach, recording secretary; Mrs. Maurice
Landers, corresponding secretary; and
Mrs. Edward S. Orgain, treasurer.