In Remembrance
Dr. Maurice Edward John, Jr. October 15, 1943-March 24, 2025 Relentless Student. Generous Teacher. Global Pioneer.
Dr. Maurice Edward John, Jr., 81, passed away peacefully on March 24, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of surgical innovation, principled mentorship and global influence. For more than five decades, Dr. John reshaped the field of ophthalmology in Kentucky, across the U. S. and around the world.
A graduate of Drake University and the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Dr. John completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Louisville in 1974, later serving as a clinical instructor. That same year, he co-founded the John Kenyon Eye Center, launching a career that would be defined not only by innovation but by an insatiable pursuit of surgical excellence.
Dr. John believed that the best way to learn was to go straight to the source. He traveled the world to study directly under the creators of the techniques that would transform modern refractive surgery. In Bogotá, Colombia, he trained with Dr. José Ignacio Barraquer, inventor of the microkeratome and developer of keratomileusis( corneal reshaping for better vision), the foundational work behind LASIK. In Russia, he studied radial keratotomy( RK) under Dr. Svyatoslav Fyodorov, who pioneered the first surgical procedure to correct myopia.
He also traveled to the Christian Hospital in Taxila, Pakistan, founded by Dr. John Gregory Martin, to study high-volume, compassionate cataract surgery. And in England, he trained with Dr. Jan Venter on phakic intraocular lens implantation, later serving as one of the principal investigators for the FDA trial of the Artisan lens, which was approved in 2006.
Dr. John was at the forefront of advancing ophthalmic surgery in the Louisville region. He was one of the first, if not first, performing outpatient cataract surgery, foldable lens implants, YAG capsulotomies, radial keratotomy, LASIK( laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), and femtosecond-laser assisted cataract and LASIK surgery. He published over 40 papers, delivered nearly 400 presentations, taught in more than 15 countries and founded the RK International Course in Jeffersonville, Indiana, attracting top refractive surgeons from around the globe.
As a colleague, partner and mentee, I knew Maurice not only as a world-class surgeon, but as a generous mentor who gave freely of his time and knowledge. He had an unmatched ability to make others better: he asked probing questions, was willing to listen and, above all, was always eager to learn.
Outside of medicine, Maurice was an avid cyclist, a UofL Cardinals superfan and a lifelong adventurer. He and his late wife, Jan, explored six continents together, summiting Kilimanjaro, reaching Everest Base Camp and embracing and overcoming every challenge with sheer determination. I once asked him what his hardest workout day was. He smiled and said,“ Sundays— my day off.” That was Maurice: never idle, never complacent.
His life reminds us that true leadership in medicine is not only about what you know, but how you share it. Dr. Maurice John made all of us better. His impact will endure in every patient treated by
the people he taught.
-Asim Piracha, MD
Dr. John was a meber of GLMS for 50 years. August 2025 33