From: dsbarr@mindspring.com   
      
   [For reasons you'll see in my comments afterward, it was a stunning   
   surprise when I only got this news yesterday from one of my other   
   ophthalmologists, not from the family or the hospital at the time.]   
      
      
   Dr. Jerry A. Shields, Emeritus Director of the world-renowned Ocular   
   Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital and Professor of Ophthalmology at   
   Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, has passed away peacefully   
   at home on June 22, 2025, holding the hand of his wife, Carol L.   
   Shields, and surrounded by his family.   
      
   Born of humble beginnings in Pride Station, Union County, Kentucky, in   
   1937, he was the youngest of 8 children. He attended Sturgis High School   
   in Kentucky and later received his bachelor’s degree from Murray State   
   University in 1960, where he excelled both academically and   
   athletically. After earning his Doctor of Medicine from the University   
   of Michigan Medical School in 1964, he embarked on a distinguished   
   career marked by service to his country in the Marine Corps in Vietnam   
   and groundbreaking contributions in the field of ophthalmology and   
   especially the field of ocular oncology. Some would say he completely   
   re-organized ocular oncology over his 50-year tenure with his extensive   
   teachings, published articles, and written books and atlases so that all   
   participants could understand categorization of each eye tumor and   
   proper treatment protocols, and anticipate the impact on each individual   
   patient.   
      
   Some speculate this scientific drive was related to his grade school and   
   high school years, catching butterflies in the wild--and then   
   categorizing each according to genus and species. He accumulated several   
   thousand specimens and then exhibited the enormous array on numerous   
   poster boards, tediously identified and accurately labeled. This was the   
   beginning of his scientific endeavors. It has been said that his   
   exhibition of butterflies was the second largest in the United States in   
   the 1950s/1960s, a collection that he generously donated to a university   
   in Kentucky, his home state.   
      
   A proud American, Dr. Shields served as a Marine Battalion Surgeon on   
   the “front line” during the Vietnam War, followed by service in the US   
   Navy in Europe. Upon returning to the United States, he completed his   
   residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1970,   
   specializing in ophthalmology. He further pursued fellowships in   
   ophthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology,   
   Washington, D.C., in 1971 and vitreoretinal surgery at the Wills Eye   
   Hospital in 1972. Dr. Shields then proceeded to establish the Ocular   
   Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital in 1974. This was one of the   
   first eye cancer centers in the world, with complete focus on patients   
   with eye tumors, including treatments and outcomes. Here, Dr. Shields   
   pioneered advancements in the field with improved detection of   
   intraocular melanoma using ultrasonography, fluorescein angiography, and   
   radioactive P-32 uptake. Tumor detection remarkably improved, and   
   countless lives and eyes were saved. He was one of the first doctors in   
   the world to explore more refined treatment of eye cancers using plaque   
   radiotherapy, a technique that is commonly used today, but was very   
   rarely used when he started, as most eyes were managed with surgical eye   
   removal, or enucleation.   
      
   During his tenure, Dr. Shields met his beloved wife, Dr. Carol Lally   
   Shields, with whom he built the Ocular Oncology Service at Wills Eye   
   Hospital into the world's largest center for ocular cancers and tumors.   
   Dr. Shields was renowned for his multidimensional talents as a   
   physician, surgeon, researcher, and speaker, authoring over 2,000   
   scientific articles, 700 textbook chapters, and 13 complete textbooks.   
   He also trained approximately 300 fellows worldwide in ocular oncology,   
   leaving an indelible footprint on the field.   
      
   Dr. Shields has been honored with numerous awards and accolades   
   throughout his career, including the Top National Physician of the Year   
   Award for Clinical Excellence in 2013 from the Castle Connelly Awards,   
   and the Laureate Award (for leading ophthalmologist in the country) in   
   2014 from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He was the founding   
   member and first President of the International Society of Ocular   
   Oncology, an international subspecialty group focused on eye cancer. He   
   has served on the editorial boards for numerous scientific journals and   
   played key leadership roles in various ophthalmological societies.   
      
   Survived by his wife of 40 years, Dr. Carol Lally Shields, and their   
   seven children, recognized him as a respected physician, warm and loving   
   husband, and truly dedicated father with a wonderful sense of humor. Dr.   
   Jerry A. Shields leaves behind an incredible legacy of excellence,   
   compassion, and dedication to advancing the understanding and treatment   
   of eye tumors.   
      
   Dr. Shields will be deeply missed by his family, colleagues, and the   
   countless lives he touched throughout his remarkable career.   
   ======   
   I first met Jerry in October 1977 when I was referred to him by my   
   then-new New York ophthalmologist for a tumour in my left eye.  Two   
   weeks later he took me to a conference on ocular oncology at the Armed   
   Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Hospital, where some 30   
   doctors examined me and most declared the eye should be removed   
   promptly.  Jerry, along with AFIP's Lorenz Zimmerman, said we should   
   wait.  After monitoring the situation for three years Jerry, in a   
   remarkable piece of surgery, not only removed the tumour but left the   
   rest of the eye intact, including particularly delicate structures.   
   The case has been published in various journals and textbooks.  In the   
   years following the surgery my followup visits gradually became less   
   frequent and soon became annual ones which were more social calls than   
   medical necessity.  On those occasions it was routine for Jerry to have   
   up to a dozen of his students come in and observe his exams of me as   
   well as have their own shots at me, examining his handiwork and its   
   results; one of those students (younger than I) later became his wife,   
   and partner in their practice and my care.  The last time I saw Jerry   
   was in January 2023; he later suffered a stroke which prevented him from   
   coming in and seeing patients but his wife kept him up to date with   
   their cases until his death.  One little story which my mom used to like   
   to tell people to illustrate Jerry's caring nature: on the Saturday   
   night two days after the surgery while I was still recuperating in the   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)