James Edward McGuigan M.D.'s Obituary
James Edward McGuigan, M.D., died in Gainesville, Florida, on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, after a brief illness. He was born on August 20, 1931 in Paterson, New Jersey, the older child of Harold Taylor McGuigan and Mary Gladys (“Marie”) Lloyd McGuigan. He attended Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington, pitching on the baseball team and his quarterbacking helped lead the football team to play in their first ever state championship.
After receiving his Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Seattle University, Dr. McGuigan earned his medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine, in 1956, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. His internship was in Philadelphia at The Pennsylvania Hospital. Subsequently he served in the USAF for three years, followed by a residency and fellowship at the University of Washington, in Seattle. His second fellowship took place at Washington University in St. Louis, in immunology. He then served as a clinical professor of gastroenterology, until, in 1969, he accepted the position as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at UF College of Medicine.
In 1976, he became Chairman of the Department of Medicine, stepping down in 1997. He resumed practice with gastroenterology, retiring in 2013. He then received emeritus status. Among his awards and honors were: continuous funding for his research for 31 years, from the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”); an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden for his research; identification and citation by Citation Index as one of the 1,000 most frequently cited research scientists in the world; and publishing over 250 times.
While Dr. McGuigan’s research achievements are impressive, two other passions influenced his career choices: to nurture and to educate. He had an ease with patients that instilled confidence in the system, soothing anxieties of his patients and their families. Those skills, coupled with keen diagnostic ability, made him a sought-after instructor for medical students, house officers, and colleagues. He knew that medicine is as much an art as a science, and had that rare ability to capture, demonstrate, and explain that art to others. When students asked what course would most benefit them in pursuing medicine, Dr. McGuigan would tell them to take a psychology and a philosophy class. Dr. McGuigan may be most remembered by his students for his physical diagnosis class, which he taught for years (even while chairman). The Outstanding Clinical Teacher Award he received from the graduating medical students of the UF College of Medicine in 1975 was among his most treasured accolades. He continued to guide and teach as professor emeritus up to the end. His legacy will be felt well into the future by his students, their patients, and those who knew him.
Dr. McGuigan is survived by his wife, Nancy McGuigan. He is also survived by his sister, Elizabeth Dean; Mary McGuigan, the mother of his three children, Sheila McGuigan, John McGuigan, and Maura McGuigan Vash (Jeffrey); his grandson Collin; and his niece, Maureen Johnson, and nephew, Edwin Glueck, as well as his four great nephews (one of whom, was just accepted to medical school).
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Friday, April 27, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 10900 SW 24th Ave. with Fr. Kazimierz Ligeza as celebrant. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Central. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service beginning at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Relief Services, https://support.crs.org/donate/give.
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