IN REMEMBRANCE : Robert Sexton , MD 8 / 19 / 1934-1 / 18 / 2022
I have known the late Dr . Bob Sexton from about the time he came to Louisville to practice neurosurgery at St . Joseph Infirmary . He was trained in Montreal , Canada at McGill University and did his residencies at the University of Louisville and Mayo Clinic .
He was very well read in different subjects , and he had a convivial personality . I got to know him mostly because we covered for each other . One of our nurses , Ms . Joanne , knew him the best . She often laughed after the operations because she often had to bear a heavy load of commentary in case things didn ’ t go smoothly .
He knew the community well and informed me about different personalities and how to get along . That hadn ’ t helped me that much ! He was like most neurosurgeons a bit to the left of the center and a bit eccentric . It was always fun to hear his opinion about theater , drama , literature , poetry and of course neurosurgical issues . He had strong political opinions .
He told me about his training at Montreal . He also told me about working in Louisville and his association with different prominent surgeons in our town . He was a young neurosurgeon then with prominent men like Drs . Frank Jelsma and Thomas Marshall and I believe Dr . Andy Dzenitis arrived soon after . I was an intern at that time and tried to learn from each of them and honored the medical pearls they kindly shared with me . After talking with Bob Sexton , it became obvious that all pearls are to be admired but not all of them have the same value ; with his , it was clear that he understood the meaning of discernment and he knew a bit of Eastern philosophy .
Dr . Sexton was a friend to me , and we had a lot of laughs while drinking free coffee during early mornings in the surgeons ’ lounge , which was the place to hear all the jokes . He developed some medical issues later in life and also lost one of his eyes . However , he had accepted life with equanimity and always was grateful to all those who had helped him . He was generous and donated some of his instruments to me so that I could use those while operating in Africa . I will miss him . -Timir Banerjee , MD
DR . SEXTON WAS A GLMS MEMBER FOR 55 YEARS .
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