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Douglas Holsclaw, Jr, MD, 89, passed away on July 25, 2024. Doug retired from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 after a 60-year medical career dedicated to improving and lengthening the lives of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to education about this genetic disorder. He was laid to rest in Tucson, Arizona at the base of the Catalina mountains. Doug was born and raised in Tucson and maintained a life-long connection with Arizona. He graduated from the University of Arizona where he was student body president. Doug began his medical training at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was drawn to pediatrics. It was there that he first learned of cystic fibrosis, directly from researcher Dorothy Anderson, MD, who gave CF its name. Doug’s academic medicine path took him through the University of Chicago for internship, followed by a pediatric residency at the University of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He honed his skills in pediatric pulmonary medicine with a year at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. He then served as a Navy pediatrician in Oakland, CA, and volunteered at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti before settling into specialized clinical practice. He completed his medical training with a fellowship at Harvard University, Boston Children's Hospital. In 1970, Doug became the Director of the CF Center at Hahnemann Medical Center in Philadelphia where he was Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine. In 2000, Doug moved to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine CF Center, from which he retired at age 84. For several decades he served as an advisor to the national Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, developing professional education programs and compiling an extensive bibliography on CF as a resource for healthcare providers. Over his long career Doug authored 94 published articles on CF and related subjects. He was an old-school physician who made himself always available to his patients. He believed deeply in educating them and their families and forged a partnership with them for life. His license plate even read Fight CF. His years of dedication saw the average lifespan increase from eight to 60 in his career and had some patients living into their 70s. His passion outside of medicine was deeply rooted in the arts. He was a life-long lover of music and an accomplished pianist. He was interested in art history and became an avid collector of American 19th century oil paintings. Dr. Holsclaw is survived by children Doug III and spouse Melody in San Francisco, and Alyx in Chicago and former spouse Anne Topham Holsclaw in Narberth. A Celebration of Life is planned for November 16th, noon. For further information please email DSHmemorial24@gmail.com. His memory may be honored by donations to the Delaware Valley Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 3803 Westchester Pike, Newtown Square, Pa 19073.

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Douglas Holsclaw Jr, MD

November 25, 1934 - July 25, 2024