Today, we honor the life of my Grandaddy, Dr. Kenwyn Gordon Nelson, on what would have been his 100th birthday. He passed away March 10, 2019, but he lived an incredible, adventurous life. Upon graduating high school, he enrolled in the University of Virginia at the age of 16 as an undergraduate student. He then entered the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he graduated in 1948 as a Doctor of Medicine at just 21 years of age. From 1948-1949, he served as an intern at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. In 1949, he became a General Surgery resident at New York University where he would remain until 1950. He was then commissioned into the Medical Corps of the United States Army in 1951. He became a resident in Thoracic Surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In 1966, he was named Chief of the Thoracic Surgery Service at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. Two years later, he attained the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army In 1969, he was named Chief of the Department of Surgery, also at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. The following year, he was designated Commander of the 71st Evacuation Hospital in the Republic of Vietnam. He served as Commander and Senior Thoracic Surgeon for the 91st Evacuation Hospital, also in Vietnam. Upon returning to El Paso in 1971, he served as Chief of the Department of Surgery, Deputy Commander, Chief of Professional Services, Director of Medical Education, U.S. Army Professor of Thoracic Surgery, Department Chairman of Surgery and Chief of the Thoracic Surgery Service at William Beaumont General Hospital. He would remain in these roles until his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1975. He was awarded the Legion of Merit with the Oak Leaf Cluster. In 1975, he moved to East Texas where he was named Chief of Staff, Chief of Surgery and Director of Medical Education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. He would remain at UTHSCT until his retirement in 2005. He was a member of the following professional medical organizations: Fellow - American College of Surgeons; Fellow - American College of Cardiology; Fellow - American College of Chest Physicians; Member - Society of Thoracic Surgeons; Member - Southern Thoracic Surgical Association; Member - World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology; Member - International Bronchoesophagological Society; Member - Texas Medical Association. He authored and co-authored numerous articles in medical journals and delivered presentations around the globe to others in the field of Cardiothoracic Surgery. My Grandaddy enjoyed traveling the world, collecting lighthouses and coins, gardening – especially Japanese maples, international orchid judging, reading and spending time with his family. We love and miss you!
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William Beaumont Army Medical Center
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