In Memoriam: Patricia A. O’Shea, M.D.(1944–2002)

CHERYL M. COFFIN*

Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, 30 North 1900 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84132,USA

Published online August 29, 2002

Patricia A. O’Shea (Fig. 1) was a wonderful pathol-ogist, teacher, mentor, and friend. In many ways,she was an unsung heroine of pediatric pathologybecause of her quiet, behind-the-scenes advocacyfor the field, her mentoring and nurturing of sev-eral generations of colleagues and trainees, herunassuming intelligence, and her dry, wry humor.In addition to her skills as a diagnostic pathologistand teacher, Pat was a Renaissance woman with abreadth of interests and talents. Her legacy is notonly in her work, teaching, and publications, butalso in the several generations of pathologistswhom she influenced, her family, and her manyfriends from different spheres.

A native of Syracuse, New York, and thedaughter of the late John D. and Mildred O. Allen,she graduated from LeMoyne College, Syracuse,New York, in 1966 with a B.S. in biology, SummaCum Laude. She matriculated at the Johns Hop-kins University School of Medicine, Baltimore,Maryland, and received her M.D. in 1970. Whilea freshman in medical school, Pat met her futurehusband, John O’Shea, in the histology labora-tory. Friendship blossomed into a romance, andthree years later, Pat and John were married. Aninternship and a residency in pathology werecompleted at Duke University Medical Center,Durham, North Carolina from 1970 to 1974. Theregional paucity of good restaurants in that area

motivated Pat to develop her culinary abilities,

which eventually led to classes and workshops

*Corresponding author, email: pcccoffi@ihc.com Figure 1. Patricia A. O’Shea, M.D. (1944–2002).

Pediatric and Developmental Pathology 5, 419–421, 2002

DOI: 10.1007/s10024-002-0048-3

© 2002 Society for Pediatric Pathology

with Marcella Hazan in Italy and many unforget-table home-cooked meals.

In 1974, the O’Sheas moved to Providence,Rhode Island, where Pat joined the Department ofPathology faculty at Brown University, and shewas an attending pathologist at Rhode Island Hos-pital. Early in her career at Brown University, shepursued an interest in pediatric pathology andstudied with Gordon F. Vawter, M.D., at Children’sHospital Medical Center in Boston. Pat advancedto Associate Professor of Pathology at Brown Uni-versity, Associate Pathologist at Rhode Island Hos-pital, and Consultant in Pathology at Women’s andInfant’s Hospital of Rhode Island and EmmaPendleton Bradley Hospital in East Providence,Rhode Island. My first encounter with Pat andJohn occurred during this period and was typicalof their graciousness and their positive influence.Pat and John went out of their way to complimentand encourage me after one of my first presenta-tions at the Society for Pediatric Pathology meet-ing in San Francisco in 1984. While in Providence,Pat gained recognition for her teaching and diag-nostic expertise. She also studied Italian and pur-sued interests in gardening and the arts. When weworked together at Rhode Island Hospital, Pat wasan accomplished surgical pathologist. She encour-aged me to continue with my evolving interest inpediatric soft tissue tumors, and we offered a shortcourse on that subject together for the UnitedStates and Canadian Academy of Pathology.

In 1990, the O’Sheas moved to Atlanta, Geor-gia. Pat joined the Pathology Departments at Eg-leston Children’s Hospital and Emory University,where she spent the remainder of her career andworked closely with Carlos Abramowsky, whomshe had known since residency days at Duke. Justas in Providence, Pat earned tremendous respect asa diagnostician and teacher. She instilled a spirit ofenthusiasm for pediatric pathology and the hu-manities in the residents and her colleagues.

Throughout her career, Pat was active in theSociety for Pediatric Pathology. She chaired theMembership, Finance, and Awards Committeesand was a member of the Education Committeeand the Council. At the time of her death, shechaired the Publications Committee. She was adelegate to the Strategic Long-Term Planning Con-ference in 1996 and helped to establish a founda-

tion for pediatric pathology research. While inNew England, Pat participated in the New EnglandPediatric Pathology Club and she organized andhosted with Don Singer the Pediatric PathologyClub Meeting in 1979 and the First InternationalConference on Forensic Pediatric Pathology in1989. The pediatric pathologists whom Pat taught,encouraged, and mentored include Alex Knisely,Beverly Rogers, Halit Pinar, Katrine Hansen, AliceWerner, Niru Padiyar, Yuki Hammers, myself, andmany others.

Clinicopathologic studies in pediatric surgi-cal pathology were the focus of publications span-ning her residency at Hopkins to her death. Theearly works emphasized unusual manifestations ofcommon and uncommon diseases in children. Anexemplary writer with an impressive command ofthe English language, Pat coedited the book Pedi-atric Soft Tissue Tumors with me and Louis P.Dehner, published by Williams and Wilkins in1997. In the last 10 years of her career, she collab-orated on several important studies of pediatricsoft tissue tumors, including infantile fibrosar-coma, childhood fibromatosis, and Ewing sar-coma.

Pat O’Shea had many passionate interestsoutside of the fields of medicine and she knew howto relax. Pat enjoyed art, music, gardening, nature,gourmet cooking, fashion, investments, and travel.Although she downplayed her own artistic abili-ties, her talent was obvious in the palettes of herhome, her garden, and her personal expression ofstyle. She pursued interests in opera and cookingon trips to Italy and France. An invitation to dinnerat Pat’s house was always a special occasion with aunique combination of great company, great food,and great atmosphere. When she moved to Atlanta,Pat transformed a rocky hillside backyard into adelightful woodland of flowering trees, pines, anddaffodils, and she cultivated herbs and exotic veg-etables in exquisite brick-lined plots. Today, someof her sorrel grows among our roses in Salt LakeCity. She avidly supported the Atlanta Ballet andthe Atlanta Opera through volunteer work and pa-tronage. At the time of her death, both Pat andJohn were in docent training for the Emory Uni-versity Art Museum. She was excited to learn indepth about paintings and objects that she “hadbeen looking at in museums for years.” Sports

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were also an important part of Pat’s life. Everyspring, she celebrated spring training, often inFlorida, and she cheered the Atlanta Braves through-out their season. She played tennis with the AtlantaLawn Tennis Association. Her cats were pamperedcreatures. Although Pat did not have children, shecultivated the next generation through her work as apediatric pathologist, support of the arts, and dedi-cation to friends and community.

Pat had a gift for friendship. People fromGeorgia, Rhode Island, and all over the world wereprivileged to know her. She was kind, generous,insightful, and humorous. An advocate of the bal-anced life, her motto at age 50 became “The first 50years were for everyone else, the second 50 are for

me!” She began the second half of her life withplans for time at the beach on St. Simon’s Island,more frequent travel to Europe, greater involve-ment in the arts and tennis, and vegetable and herbgardening to complement her culinary efforts. In2001, Pat began a phased retirement, with full re-tirement anticipated by Spring 2002. Her suddendeath at home of a pulmonary embolism on Janu-ary 24, 2002, occurred just as the next phase of herlife was beginning. She is survived by her husband,John O’Shea, her sister Suzanne Gibson and herfamily, the cats Woodruff, Butterscotch, andSnowman, and many colleagues and friends. She isdeeply missed and remembered with respect andappreciation.

IN MEMORIAM: PATRICIA A. O’SHEA, M.D. 421