Bruce M. Shepard, M.D.

1911 - 2006

Retired San Bernardino anesthesiologist Bruce M. Shepard, MD passed away on November 5, 2006.

Dr. Shepard was born in Leadville, Colorado. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1940 and did his internship at Bellevue Hospital, First Medical Division, New York. He completed residencies in surgery at the U.S. Naval Hospital, St. Albans, New York, and in anesthesiology at University Hospitals, University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He served as Captain in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1962; the last four years as director of the Department of Anesthesiology at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego.

He came to San Bernardino and joined the Medical Society in 1962. He assisted Dr. William Cover in the development of the Respiratory Care and Pulmonary Laboratory Department at St. Bernardine Medical Center and served as its Medical Director for 28 years. He was also instrumental in the development and success of the Respiratory Therapy Education programs at San Bernardino Valley College, Crafton Hills Community College and Victor Valley College. He retired from active practice in 1997.

Dr. Shepard served as Chairman of the American Heart Association's Committee on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation from 1966 to 1980. In 1970 he organized one of the first CPR teaching programs in the area and took one day a week from his practice to teach CPR techniques. He was active at the county and national levels of the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the American Association for Respiratory Care. He was one of the founders of the California Thoracic Society's Respiratory Care Committee.

In 1993 the San Bernardino County Medical Society presented the William L. Cover, M.D. Outstanding Contribution to Medicine Award in recognition of his many contributions to the medical profession and his community.

Elsie Rosso-Llopart, M.D.

1925 - 2006

Elsie Rosso-Llopart, MD passed away on November 3, 2006 at her home in Dana Point.

Dr. Rosso-Llopart was born in Manati, Puerto Rico. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1946 and then served on the faculty as an Instructor in Mathematics and Science. She received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in 1955. Following a year of rotating internship at San Juan City Hospital, she began her practice in San Bernardino in 1957 out of her home. That same year she joined our medical society and CMA. It should be noted that she was not only the first woman general practitioner in the city but the first Hispanic female general practitioner. She earned board certification in Family Practice in 1978.

Her specialty was family practice and obstetrics. She met the needs of the community, especially those of Hispanic women who found in her a special friend, confidant and advisor and someone who understood their language and culture. Credited with being the originator of alternative birth center deliveries, she understood and met the needs of many impoverished patients who could not afford the entire labor and delivery room fees. After retiring in 1989, she served as a staff physician at the Student Health Center at California State University San Bernardino.

Dr. Rosso-Llopart was a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the AMA. She received the Hispanic Professional Award in 1988 and in 1996, the SBCMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community.

She is survived by four brothers and two sisters, and by her eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Robert N. Williams, MD passed away at the age of 98 on September 29, 2006 at Newport Beach, California. He practiced Internal Medicine in Ontario from 1937 until his retirement on January 1, 1987. He was a member of SBCMS, California Medical Association, and the American Medical Association for 69 years.

Born in Ithaca, New York, Dr. Williams received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in 1934. He took his general internship and residency in medicine at the California Hospital in Los Angeles where he met his wife Kay. He then joined the practice of Drs. Williamson Henke in Ontario. Robert and Kay had two children, David and Jan, and four grandchildren.

Dr. Williams served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46. He was chairman of the credentials committee at San Antonio Community Hospital for 20 years and completed two terms as president of the medical staff. Dr. Williams was also the medical consultant and first director of the Coronary Care Unit until his retirement. He was active in the YMCA, Kiwanis Club, and the American Heart Association. He developed a world-class sailing and racing boat with which he competed in several events, winning the Guadeloupe Island race at the age of 73. He also developed new concepts in marine refrigeration and started his own development and manufacturing company.

Hersha King

1982 - 2006

Medical student Hersha King died on June 14, 2006 in Kissimmee, Florida from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. She had just completed her freshman year at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. She joined SBCMS in August, 2005.

Ms. King emigrated with her family from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, to Berrian Springs, Michigan, soon after she was born and later moved with her parents to Forest City, Florida. She received her bachelor's degree in science from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama in 2004 and started at Loma Linda University in 2005.

Her parents, Pastor Newton King, Sr., and Syllette King, MD, have established the Hersha Foundation to help students in Trinidad attend medical school.

Ms. King is also survived by one brother, Newton King, Jr.; her maternal grandparents, Theophilus and Lucelia Billingy; and her paternal grandmother, Ereille King. A service of memory was held on June 20, 2006 at Patmos Chapel Seventh-Day Adventist Church, in Winter Park, Florida.

Dick Koobs, M.D.

1928 - 2006

Loma Linda Pathologist Dick Koobs, M.D. passed away the evening of June 11, 2006. He was a member of SBCMS and the California Medical Association for 37 years.

Born in Hinsdale, Illinois, Dr. Koobs came to California to study medicine at Loma Linda University and received his medical degree in 1955. He completed his internship at R.B. Green Memorial Hospital in San Antonio, Texas 1951-1956, and a residency at White Memorial Hospital, Los Angeles 1956-1959. He earned a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from UCLA. He was board certified by the American Board of Pathoogy in 1966 and was Emeritus Professor of Pathology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

Dr. Koobs served in the U.S. Army from 1959-61. He was a member of the International Academy of Pathology and the American Cancer Society.

Survivors include his wife, Ardyce Hansen Koobs, of Loma Linda. A memorial service was held June 16, 2006, in the Campus chapel of the Loma Linda University Church.

Walter L. Stilson, M.D.

1908 - 2006

Retired Loma Linda radiologist Walter L. Stilson, M.D. passed away at his home in Loma Linda on March 17, 2006. He was a member of SBCMS and the California Medical Association for 40 years, and most recently served several years as a member of our Historical Committee.

Born in Hinsdale, Sioux City, South Dakota, Dr. Stilson graduated from the College of Medical Evangelists in 1933. He completed his internship at White Memorial Medical Center, Los Angeles 1933-1934, and a residency at Los Angeles County General Hospital, 1934-1936. He was an assistant surgeon with the U.S. Public Health Service from 1943 to 1948, and from 1936 to 1966 practiced radiology at White Memorial Medical Center. He was a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.

Dr. Stilson established the department of radiology in 1937 at the College of Medical Evangelists, which later became Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He was Professor of Radiology and the first chairman of the department of Radiation Technology. He regularly participated in the Visiting Radiologists program of monthly lectures at White Memorial. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Radiological Society of Southern California, the Radiological Society of North America, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Survivors include his daughters, Carolyn Palmieri of Loma Linda and Judy Stirling of Port Orchard, Washington; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service was held March 26, 2006, in the Campus Chapel of the Loma Linda University Church. The Family suggests that memorial donations may be made to the Walter L. Stilson Endowment Fund for Radiology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354.

Gebre C. Gobezie , M.D.

1932 - 2006

Gebre C. Gobezie, MD passed away April 22, 2006 in Long Beach. Dr. Gobezie was born in Adwa, Ethiopia. He received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in 1960 and completed internships at American University of Beirut and Halle Selassie Hospital in Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia in 1961. Dr. Gobezie came to the United States in 1963 to train in internal medicine and gastroenterology at St. Raphael Hospital and Grace-New Haven Hospital, Connecticut. He was Director of Medical Services and Safety engineering for Ethiopian Airlines 1966-1972, and Chief Physician and Medical Consultant for the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority. He was also Chief Medical Officer for the Oriental Province, The Republic of Congo, under the United Nations with the Ethiopian Contingent, with the rank of Major.

Dr. Gobezie returned to the U.S. to complete a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. He moved to Barstow, opened his private practice of gastroenterology, and joined the Medical Society in 1975. He served Barstow Community Hospital as Chief of Staff and served on numerous committees there, as well as at Victor Valley Community Hospital and St. Mary Desert Community Hospital.

Doctor Goebzie was a member of the San Bernardino County Medical Society Board of Directors since 1983, and was honored with Emeritus status. He was elected to the presidency in 1989. He chaired the Society's Credentials and Professional Review Commission for many years, served as a CMA Delegate from District 1, AMA member, and a California Blue Shield Administrative member. His contribution to the Society's efforts in membership recruitment is unsurpassed; he chaired the Society's Membership Committee in 1985 which developed a successful recruitment program with 152 new members in a 10-month period. In 1994, the Medical Society honored Dr. Gobezie with the Nicholas P. Krikes M.D. Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Medical Society for his years of dedicated service to SBCMS, CMA and to the causes of organized medicine. In 1999 he was honored by the Medical Society with a special Award of Excellence for his extrordinary commitment to the Medical Society.

Dr. Gobezie also received the AMA Physician Recognition Award four times. On November 28, 2005, Dr. Gobezie retired from the SBCMS Board of Directors after 22 years of service. He received a resolution from the Medical Society acknowledging "his outstanding, unselfish contributions, his leadership, his compassionate efforts to improve the health and well being of all citizens in our county, and his contributions to public health intervention efforts".

Dr. Gobezie was husband to Lina for 35 years, and father of Reuben, Shimona and Emiel. The Medical Society and those colleagues and staff who knew him and worked with him on the board of directors, the Executive Committee and during his term as president will miss him greatly.