I knew Doctor Durie. I worked as a security officer at Trinity Lutheran Hospital starting in 1975 for five and a half years. He was head of the Pulmonary unit at TLH.
We were not friends or anything but he had a great department.
He was a very nice man. I never had any problems with him.
I was a security supervisor and fire marshal and we took care of OSHA and other safety matters so I had a lot of contact with him and his department and like I said never had any problems. He was very kind and friendly.
It was sort of interesting to me what a big department that he had and how well it was run.
The hospital that I worked at before going to TLH was St. Joseph Hospital. We had someone come to our hospital and go to a patient’s room and tell the patient’s wife that he was going to give the woman’s husband a pulmonary treatment. He asked her to step outside. She said that they always let her stay but the guy asked her to wait outside. Then very fast he exited the room. She went into the room and she and her husband found that his billfold was missing.
Well later at TLH before Doctor Durie took over the the pulmonary department the United States Marshalls showed up to arrested the head of the pulmonary department, not a doctor, and he shot it out with the police and at lease one officer was shot. Turns out that was the guy that had come to St. Joseph Hospital and robbed the patient. His wife, the robber, worked as an ER admitting clerk at our hospital and that is how they knew the patient had a large sum of money.
So I was always sort of interested in how Doctor Durie had taken a department that had that sort of problem and turned it into the best pulmonary unit in Kansas City.
Also, another story, the director of security at TLH in one of our department meetings told the officers that he had found out that there were a lot of gays in the pulmonary department and he was going to get them all fired. I told him, in the meeting, I don’t think you can get them fired and I think you better drop that idea right now.
He went to administration after our meeting and told them that he had found out that there were gays in the pulmonary department and he was going to find out their names and they would be fired. The administration told him he was stupid and to drop that idea right now because the only person in danger of getting fired was him.
“ROBERT HOWARD DURIE M.D.
Robert H. Durie, M.D. beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, colleague, and physician died May 2, 2012, at the age of 75. He was a kind man known for his integrity, intelligence, great sense of humor, and his absolute devotion to his family, friends, and patients. Robert had a great passion for life and a love of the natural world. He had a keen interest in many subjects: botany, history, entomology, politics, music and literature. Robert was born on Oct. 23, 1936, in Raton, New Mexico, the son of Ralph Christie and Grace (Pitts) Durie. His family moved to Liberty, Mo., in 1945, when Robert was nine years old. Robert graduated as valedictorian from Liberty High School in 1954, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from William Jewell College in 1957, and graduated from University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1961. He had a successful career in medicine spanning 40 years. Robert served in the United States Coast Guard in the Public Health Service from 1963 to 1965, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine and he held various academic appointments during his long career including appointments at Brown University, University of Kansas School of Medicine and The School of Medicine at The University of Missouri in Kansas City. Dr. Durie practiced medicine in Massachusetts and Rhode Island before returning to the Kansas City area in 1974 when he became the Director of Pulmonary Disease at Trinity Lutheran Hospital. During his long tenure at Trinity he served as President of the Medical/Dental Staff and was a member of the Trinity Hospital Board of Directors. He was Chairman and on-going member of the Directors of the Jack Hill Continuing Medical Education Foundation and served as a founding Board member of the Baptist- Trinity Lutheran Legacy Foundation. Dr. Durie also started a solo private practice in Pulmonary medicine which grew into a well-respected group practice, Consultants in Pulmonary Medicine, affiliated with Trinity Lutheran Hospital, Olathe Hospital and North Kansas City Hospital. Bob was preceded in death by his dear parents and sisters, Mary Ann Crain and Ruth Clouse. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Salmon Durie, his three children, Catherine J. Durie, M.D. (Rachel Telushkin), Amy E. Durie (David Forrest) and Ted Durie (Lori Schnoebelen Durie), six adored grandchildren, Daniel Durie, Sarah Forrest, Nathan Durie, Lauren Durie, Matthew Forrest, and William Durie- Poliwoda and 11 loved nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, May 11, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1700 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo. Visitation with the family will be at 3 p.m., services celebrating Robert's life at 4 p.m. followed by a meal at the church at 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Baptist- Trinity Legacy Lutheran Foundation, 6601 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64131-9901 or to Immanuel Lutheran Church. Arr.: Cremation Society of KS & MO, 8837 Roe, Prairie Village, KS 66207 (913) 383-9888. C
Published in Kansas City Star on May 6, 2012”
Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=robert-howard-durie&pid=157482103#storylink=cpy
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