Robert Royce, MD
Robert K. Royce, MD, a Washington University urologist who led the Division of Urology as interim chief from 1973 to 1975 and its residency program from 1972 to 1987, died on May 15, 2018, at his home in Ladue. He was 101. Royce, a native of Mississippi, spent his first two years of medical school at the University of Mississippi before transferring and completing his training at Washington University School of Medicine in 1942. After a year of rotating internship at the University of Chicago and two years in the Army Medical Corps, Royce began his surgical training at Barnes Hospital and never left. He completed his urologic residency under chief Dalton K. Rose, MD, in 1949, and joined Rose and his partner, Justin Cordonnier, MD, in clinical practice. Royce saw Cordonnier become the first full-time head of urology. He also served on the search committee that recruited William Fair, MD, as chief in 1975. The Robert K. Royce Distinguished Professorship in Urologic Surgery was established in 2009 and is held by Division Chief Gerald Andriole, MD.
James Lee
The department also lost James Lee, coordinator of international scholars and patients, who died April 7, 2018, in St. Louis following a brief illness. He was 59. Lee began working for the university in 2006 as a liaison between the department and international scholars, fellows and patients’ families. His duties included helping residents and fellows manage visas, translating for Spanish-speakers, providing orientations and scheduling assistance, and generously assisting with a range of other issues. Lee also served as a concierge for patients’ families. “James did the work of three or four individuals,” said Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, the Bixby Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. “He also formed close friendships with the people he helped. His knowledge of government regulations regarding visas and immigration law was herculean. He was a real force for our department and our partner institutions in attracting international visitors to the medical school campus.” Lee was honored in 2011 with the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award.