Sam L. Clark Jr., MD, founding chair of Anatomy, dies at 86

November 20, 2012

Sam Lillard Clark Jr., MD, founding chair of the UMass Medical School Department of Anatomy, died on Friday, Nov. 9 in Scarborough, Maine, at the age of 86, after suffering with Parkinson’s disease. A 1949 graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Clark was the first full-time faculty member to be hired by founding dean Lamar Soutter in 1969; he remained chair of the department until 1980. He was instrumental in recruiting many notable early faculty and staff members and in establishing the foundation for growth of the Medical School.

Clark served as a physician in the U.S. Navy from 1949 until 1954, and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserves in 1958. After a 30-year career in academic medicine, he returned to private practice.

The full obituary can be viewed here.