Dr. Richard Crosman Fowler

Dr. Richard Crosman Fowler of Easton died at the Memorial Hospital, Easton on Wednesday, September 15, 1999. He was 83. Born in Rochester, NY on October 15, 1915, he was the son of the late Herbert Ernest and Lilly Crosman Fowler. In 1937, he received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended evening classes at the University of Dayton, OH and worked for Delco Product Corporation as an electrical engineer. He then took evening classes at the University of Pittsburgh and worked for Westinghouse Electric. In 1941, he began school fulltime at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, receiving a medical degree in 1944. He interned at the Strong Memorial and Rochester Municipal Hospitals in Rochester. While at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, he served as a Fellow, Instructor, and Assistant Professor in Physiology, an Assistant Professor in Medicine and received the Markle Scholar in Medical Science from 1948-53. He moved Washington D.C. area in 1956 and began as a Resident in Medicine at the George Washington University Hospital. In 1957, he became the Senior Resident in Medicine at the Mt. Alto Veterans Administration Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1958, he returned to the George Washington University Hospital as a doctor of the Student Health Clinic. Here, he also received a fellowship in Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases and a Special Research fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis and Atherosclerosis. Following his retirement in 1978, he moved to Easton, where he and his wife Mavis established the Foundation for Advanced Research in Medical Sciences (F.A.R.M.S) to encourage and support a variety of scientific programs. In cooperation with Dr. Wood of Easton, they studied bacteria that could cause serious infections from cuts caused by oyster shells. He and Dr. Richard Veech of NIH worked on finding nontoxic materials to prevent barnacles from fouling bottoms of boats. With Dr. Williams Nicholson of Johns Hopkins, he conducted a deer tick population study for Lyme''s Disease; the CDC in Atlanta is now continuing these studies. In cooperation with Dr. Thomas Sawyer of Royal Oak, he tested local soil and water for organisms known to cause eye infections. One of his best moments came when one of his publications led to the Naval Research Institute starting a program to find improved and safer solutions for treating burn patients. Dr. Fowler entered the U.S. Navy after graduation from medical school and was stationed in Brooklyn with his new bride, Mavis. After service in the south Pacific during WWII, he worked at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda where he was again called for service during the Korean War. After his discharge as a Lt. Commander, he joined the Department of Internal Medicine at George Washington Medical School, Washington D.C. where he specialized in rheumatology. Dr. Fowler was a former member of the Brick Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY. He was also an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and an enthusiastic participant in the Talbot County Bird Club and the Easton Amateur Ham Radio Society. Dr. Fowler was a member of the American Association for Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the American Physical Society, the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, the New York Academy of Science, the Optical Society of America, the Rochester Engineering Society, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, and the Sigma Xi Fraternity. In addition to his wife, the former Mavis Dunlop, whom he married in 1944, he is survived by a daughter, Georgia M. Ratliff of Germantown; a son, Richard C. Fowler, Jr. of Elkton; and two grandchildren, Andrew R. Ratliff and Kelly M. Ratliff, both of Germantown. Memorial services will be held at the Presbyterian Church of Easton on Saturday, September 25, 1999 at 2:00 PM. Burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery in Rochester, NY at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Foundation for Advanced Research for Medical Science, 26890 Double Mills Road, Easton, MD 21601.