LIFE GENERATIONS
Four Generations Strong : McAuliffe Family Celebrates Legacy and Future
Chiropractic has been the family business for the McAuliffe family for almost 100 years . Thirdgeneration chiropractor Dr . Terence McAuliffe , Sr . traced his family ’ s history and his hopes for the future of Chiropractic during a recent interview .
He said it all started with his grandfather , Dr . Arthur McAuliffe , Sr ., who graduated from St . Louis College of Chiropractic in 1923 . As a young man , the eldest Dr . McAuliffe worked in a butcher shop to support his mother and siblings .
“ He caught rheumatic fever because he was in a cold freezer , which damaged his heart ,” Dr . Terence McAuliffe recalled . “ My aunt told me that he was told when he was 45 that he was not going to live much longer . They always say that ’ s why he worked so hard while he was in practice – why he worked seven days a week and did what he did .”
Dr . McAuliffe ’ s grandfather passed away suddenly in the late 1940s . By then , Dr . Arthur McAuliffe , Jr . — Dr . Terence ’ s father — was attending Westminster College .
“ The original plan from his dad was for him to go to med school and then to chiropractic school ,” Dr . Terence said , adding that the goal was to ensure that “ chiropractors got the same respect as medical people .” at LIFE in 2015 . Both practice with their father in Laurel , Maryland , just south of Baltimore . Two of their cousins are also chiropractors , Dr . Kevin and Dr . Kara — Dr . Kathy ’ s older daughter , who practices with her mother at the practice her grandfather opened more than 50 years ago .
“ We ’ re just a family of chiropractors ; we just do what we do ,” Dr . Terence , Sr . explained . “ My dad never walked around being in anybody ’ s face about being a chiropractor , but he was adamant that people knew we were a chiropractic family by how we lived . For us it was to be the example of health and a good life and a good family and kind of in the trenches , so to speak . I think that ’ s what I try to do as well .”
Dr . Terence , Sr . is a 1983 National University of Health Sciences graduate , but when it came time for his sons to pick a chiropractic school to attend , he knew LIFE was the right fit .
“ And as I went down and visited the school with [ Dr . Terence , Jr . and Dr . Conner ], I was completely overwhelmed and impressed with the actual physical location and facilities and direction of the school , and how it was also maintaining the history , with the Bell Tower . With all those aspects , I thought it was quite a wonderful merger of old and new .”
During Dr . Terence , Jr .’ s graduation , Dr . Riekeman told Dr . Terence , Sr . of the plans for a monument to be built to recognize families that exemplify the passage of the chiropractic torch . It wasn ’ t until after Dr . Conner graduated a year later that things started to come together for the wall to be built and the McAuliffe family to get involved .
“ To have that opportunity is so very important ,” explained Dr . Terence , Sr . “ And since we ’ re still a young profession , that people have some sort of connection to the history and where we ’ ve come from to where we are — it ’ s the only way we ’ re going to maintain and keep moving forward and continue this profession . The Generations Wall hopefully creates an opportunity to preserve some of the names and stories of our profession .”
Dr . Terence , Sr . is especially proud of how his family legacy of chiropractors , with his grandfather all the way down to his two sons , two nieces and one nephew , were not pushed to join the profession as they were growing up .
“ With my dad , I don ’ t ever remember him saying for us to be chiropractors ,” he noted . “ And same with our kids – I was adamant to them , ‘ You have to choose your own profession , and I ’ ll support you no matter what .’”
Dr . Arthur , Jr . completed his D . C . degree in 1953 . After serving in the military during the Korean War , he reopened his father ’ s practice in St . Louis . The family and the practice relocated to Illinois in 1964 .
“ My dad and my mom had eight kids , and four of us are chiropractors : my older sister Kathy , myself , my brother Art and my sister Kerry ,” Dr . Terence said . “ My sister Kathy still has my dad ’ s practice — it ’ s her practice now — in Columbia , Illinois .”
Dr . Terrence , Dr . Art and Dr . Kerry McAuliffe- Muneses currently own separate practices in Maryland , although the siblings have all spent time practicing with their father and with each other .
The fourth generation brought the family to Life University though Dr . Terence ’ s sons . Dr . Terence McAuliffe , Jr . earned his D . C . degree from LIFE in 2014 , and Dr . Conner McAuliffe completed his D . C .
Many of the McAuliffe family returned to the Life University campus to recognize and celebrate the significance of Chiropractic and its longstanding history in their family . The family represents four generations and 96 years in the profession and continues to expand .
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Alumni . LIFE . edu | 2019
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