obituary

Terrence Allen “TA” Smith, MD, MMHC
April 9, 2025

Colleagues honor the memory of VUMC gastroenterologist Terrence “TA” Smith

During his 20-year career at VUMC, he developed the Vanderbilt Small Bowel Center and was a leader in endoscopic innovation.

By Bill Snyder
James W. “Jim” Ayers
April 3, 2025

VUMC mourns the passing of noted businessman and philanthropist Jim Ayers

Mr. Ayers and his wife, Janet, have been a major philanthropic force in all of Tennessee.

By Bill Snyder
Henry Rodes Hart Sr.
April 1, 2025

VUMC mourns loss of noted philanthropist Henry Rodes Hart Sr.

He and his wife, Patricia Ingram Hart, who died in 2022, endowed multiple chairs across the School of Medicine and Peabody College of Education and Human Development.

By Bill Snyder
March 13, 2025

Nursing leader Sandy Greeno remembered for leading by example

She served in a number of leadership roles, including evening hospital administrator and assistant hospital director for VUH. She was an administrative director for several areas, including LifeFlight and the Burn Patient Care Center, and helped guide the creation of VUH’s dedicated Trauma Intensive Care Unit.

By Wayne Wood
George Bolian, MD
February 13, 2025

VUMC mourns loss of George Bolian, MD, professor emeritus of Psychiatry

He served in many capacities in the department, including residency training director, medical director of the Psychiatric Hospital, division director, vice chair and interim chair.

By Danny Bonvissuto
February 6, 2025

Mahlon Johnson, former Vanderbilt pathologist whose story was featured on ‘60 Minutes,’ dies at 70

Dr. Johnson was performing an autopsy in 1992 when his hand slipped and he sliced through his protective gloves. He cut his finger and infected himself with AIDS.

By Wayne Wood
February 5, 2025

Richard Heller, knighted by the Queen of Denmark and first chief of Pediatric Radiology at Vanderbilt, dies at 86

Alongside his clinical, teaching, administrative and research work, Dr. Heller was a person of many other interests.
By Wayne Wood
January 21, 2025

Vanderbilt mourns loss of longtime philanthropist and supporter Ridley Wills II

Mr. Wills was noted for his substantial civic contributions to Nashville and his efforts to record and preserve the history of the city that five generations of the Wills family have called home.
By Jill Clendening
January 16, 2025

Kidney transplant leader Robert Richie is mourned

He helped build one of the leading kidney transplant programs in the country, both in terms of the number of transplants performed annually, and in long-term organ function and patient survival rates.
By Wayne Wood and Bill Snyder
December 31, 2024

Harold Jordan, VUMC’s first African American resident, who forged a career in academia and public service, dies at 87

Dr. Jordan was "a Vanderbilt and a civil rights legend."
By Wayne Wood
December 4, 2024

Vanderbilt mourns loss of informatics and HealthIT leader Edward Shultz

His contributions to clinical systems, infrastructure and education have had a lasting impact not only here at Vanderbilt but across the entire field of informatics.
By Mia Garchitorena-Scancarelli
November 14, 2024

Vanderbilt mourns loss of philanthropist, longtime supporter Peggy Warner

Mrs. Warner and the Warner family have provided philanthropic support across a range of areas at the Medical Center, from the Shade Tree Clinic, Vanderbilt’s medical student-run, free clinic, to the Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, among others.
By Jill Clendening
July 18, 2024

Vanderbilt mourns loss of pediatrician Mary Angela Skelton, who played key role in launching neonatal transport program

She served as a fellow to neonatal medicine pioneer Mildred Stahlman, MD, who instructed her to organize a referral transport program for critically ill infants and babies, which was then nicknamed the “Angel” Transport System in Dr. Skelton’s honor.
By Jessica Pasley
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