Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings April 2014, Volume 27, Number 2 | Page 78

generous heart behind a challenging exterior, he accomplished
much during his lifetime, for which we shall all be grateful.
ALBERT D. ROBERTS JR., MD
George Race was a peripatetic polymath. His energies and
curiosity seemed inexhaustible. He authored many books on
pathology. There was also his collection of old cars and, for a
while, his beloved B25 bomber, such as the one he flew in the
South Pacific and later in the Korean War. Also, he was busy at
his ranch and with a tremendous amount of travel. He was a
member of the New York Explorers Club. He was soft spoken,
always accessible, and a fine pathologist and administrator, an
unobtrusive presence in many venues.
Dr. Race and I were friends and colleagues from the 1960s,
when he was chief of pathology at Baylor and I was practicing
there. Later on, in the 1970s and 1980s, we were colleagues
in academic administration at UT Southwestern; he, associate
dean for continuing education, and I, associate dean for clinical
affairs. I also cherished a friendship with his talented wife, the
late Dr. Anne Race. I miss them both very much.
MARVIN J. STONE, MD
George Race was a multifaceted person: physician, educator, mentor, administrator, scientist, innovator, rancher, aviator, photographer, and explorer. A native Texan, George was
one of the early students at UT Southwestern Medical School,
graduating in 1947 at age 21. He received postgraduate training
at Duke and in Boston and served on the faculty of Harvard
Medical School at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
George returned to Dallas in 1955 and joined the faculty at
Southwestern. He moved to BUMC in 1959, becoming chief of
pathology, a position he held until his retirement in 1986.
With the support of Boone Powell Sr., George built an
expanded, excellent pathology department at Baylor. Longtime
members included Bill Kingsley, Sol Haberman, Weldon Tillery, Norman Helgeson, Allen Marengo-Rowe, Charles Rietz,
Joe Newman, and several women including Gwendolyn Crass,
Freida Carson, Marie Shaw, and Doris Vendrell. George also
served as director of the pathology residency program during
his entire tenure as chief at Baylor. Many practicing pathologists in Texas and surrounding states are graduates of the Baylor
program.
In addition to building pathology at Baylor, George made
three unique contributions to the institution. A gift from Mr.
A. Webb Roberts in 1972 established the Center for Continuing Education, and George became its first dean. Initially, this
was a joint venture with UT Southwestern Medical School,

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and George directed both programs. In 2012 some 250 CME
activities with 45,000 participants (over 50% physicians) were
sponsored by the A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing
Education.
Second, George was instrumental in forming the Baylor
Research Institute in 1986. He served as its first chairman with
the assistance of J. Lester Matthews. BRI remains the scientific
research arm of the health care system and currently oversees
more than $20 million in research grants as well as the institutional review board.
Third, in 1988 George established the BUMC Proceedings
and was its first editor-in-chief. In the inaugural issue, he
stated that the journal “is intended to serve as a forum for
scientific communication and education and will include clinical, technical, and research articles; grand rounds; case reports;
and articles related to available medical services throughout
the Baylor Health Care System.” The first art icle was written
by Ralph Tompsett entitled, “Reminiscing About Penicillin.”
Rose Kraft played a major role in editing the Proceedings and
other publications. BUMC Proceedings has grown in size and
reputation under the leadership of Dr. Bill Roberts. Today
each issue is sent to over 7000 health care professionals free
of charge.
George was a consistently strong advocate of the cancer
program at Baylor and one of the key medical staff members
whose support led to the formation of the Sammons Cancer
Center. When I came to Baylor in 1976 as director of the new
Sammons Cancer Center and chief of oncology, George asked
me to become director of immunology in his department, a
position I held for 35 years. George was active in the American Cancer Society and, together with Dr. Billie Aronoff, gave
Baylor a national presence in cancer care.
George was involved in a number of scholarly activities
as investigator and author. He published over 150 articles in
peer-reviewed journals and was the chief editor of Laboratory
Medicine, a four-volume compendium of clinical pathology that
went through 13 revisions. He also earned a PhD in anatomy
and microbiology and attended law school for a year.
George Race left a huge imprint on BUMC. He often likened its potential to the Harvard hospitals and believed that
Baylor could evolve from “a sleeping giant” into a recognized
major academic center.
George and his lovely wife, Anne, a respected physician in
her own right, were married for 61 years. Not only did they
have distinguished medical careers themselves, but all four of
their living children have become physicians. I know of no other
contemporary family with such a legacy.

Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings

Volume 27, Number 2