John E. Fenn ’54

John E. Fenn ’54, M.D., died on April 20 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. John was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on October 14, 1932. At Dartmouth he was a chemistry-zoology major and a member of Phi Tau/Phi Sigma Kappa and WDBS. He served the class as alumni fund volunteer, class agent, admissions ambassador, alumni interviewer, and mini-reunion chair. He received his M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine in 1961 and then was a resident in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery for six years at Grace-New Haven Community/Yale-New Haven Hospital. He served on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine since 1965. In 1973 he began a 10-year term as associate chief of the department of surgery, followed by another 10 years as chief of staff of Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 1983 he was promoted to full clinical professor. He was appointed by the governor of Connecticut to the state’s medical examining board. He was a member of the board of directors of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Whitney Center in Hamden, Connecticut. John was the author or coauthor of many scientific papers, and in 2015 published a history of the Yale department of surgery, Yale Surgery: Leaders and Legacies. He was the recipient of a number of awards during his lifetime, including the Hamilton Award for Distinguished Service to Connecticut Hospitals and the Health Care Field from the Connecticut Hospital Association. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Natalie; daughter Linda ’84; son William; four grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren, and six stepgreat-grandchildren.