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Paul C. Marshall, MD |
Paul C. Marshall, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics and neurology, died on July 22, in a tragic swimming accident. Dr. Marshall served on the faculty at UMass Medical School from 1979 to 2015, retiring as chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology in the Department of Pediatrics. He was 71.
A cum laude graduate of Boston College, Marshall received his medical degree from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1970 and began his life’s work as a pediatrician and pediatric neurologist, gently and empathically caring for children and families often frightened by the uncertainty of neurologic disease.
He was an intern in pediatrics at the former Boston City Hospital and a resident in neurology at Boston University. Residency training in pediatric neurology and neuropathology followed at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospital and at the Hospital for Sick Children in London, where he was a clinical and research assistant.
During the Vietnam War, he served as a physician in the U.S. Navy, first at the naval hospital in Memphis as chief of pediatrics and then as a pediatric neurologist at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va., during which time he taught on the faculty at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine.
He left Virginia in 1979 to join the faculty at UMMS, one of the early recruits to an academic medical center that grew into a nationally-recognized institution during the 36 years he taught and cared for children at the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center and Reliant Pediatrics. He twice served as a visiting professor in New Zealand, where his daughter, Elizabeth, had settled.
In addition to teaching and practicing medicine (he was the recipient of six annual teaching awards from medical students and residents at UMMS, including, in 2003, Neurology Residency Teacher of the Year), Marshall had a yen for adventure—Outward Bound trips (including one in the mountains of Colorado that he organized for 10 young adults with epilepsy), annual climbs of Mt. Katahdin, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and trips with a singing group to Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brazil and South Africa—and a love of life—food, wine and friendships.
“Paul was a compassionate and dedicated pediatrician, a beloved teacher, and a colleague who will be remembered for his enthusiasm and joy of life,” said Mary Lee, MD, professor and chair of pediatrics. “A colleague and father of a patient said of Paul. ‘As parents of a sick kid, Paul helped us worry a little less and hold onto hope that things would get better.’ Another colleague noted that Paul was a ‘loving mentor, who was my ‘go-to’ neurologist for complex patients, who always had a joke, and was always ready to laugh! He didn’t tolerate fools, but had a deep respect for clinicians who cared for their patients.’”
According to Dr. Lee, Marshall’s file was full of accolades from students. “His way with patients was phenomenal; he really teaches and inspires you to think on your own,” said one former student. “When I picture him in my mind, he's smiling, laughing, telling a story.”
A Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m., at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, 28 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill.
A memorial event at UMass Medical School to honor Paul and celebrate his career and life is being planned for a date to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be directed to the Division of Child Neurology at UMass Medical School (checks can be payable to the UMass Memorial Foundation, Department of Pediatrics, and sent to UMass Medical School Office of Advancement, 333 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545 or donations can be made online) or to the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center.
