Glen A. Lillington
Oct. 20, 1926-May 7, 2011
Menlo Park, California

Dr. Glen A. Lillington, whose passion for teaching, writing and speaking about medicine influenced countless medical students and practitioners, died peacefully at his Menlo Park home Saturday, May 7, 2011. He was 84.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and proud of his Icelandic heritage, Glen was an internationally recognized expert in respiratory disease and Emeritus Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California (Davis) and Stanford University. He also served recently as ombudsmen at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, where he began his long medical career in 1960.

Glen knew he wanted to become a doctor at six, when he broke his leg while ice skating and admired the skill of the physician who set the bone. An extremely bright student, he started pre-med study at the University of Manitoba aged 16.

In university, he won many scholarships and prizes and participated in a huge range of activities, from sports (hockey, football and soccer), to glee club, yearbook editorships and especially, singing. From high school onward he performed in Gilbert and Sullivan operattas, choirs and barbershop quartets and had an abiding love of grand opera.

An early disappointment was losing a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1955 after contracting tuberculosis. Instead, he joined the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota as a fellow in internal medicine and later wrote, "This was a wonderful experience in every respect, working side by side with some of the most famous and competent physicians in the world."

While there he met his wife, Ellen Place, a nursing student. They married in 1957 and moved to California in 1960 after he was offered a position at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic. He also taught at Stanford. He seized the opportunity to move to full time teaching as a professor of medicine at UC Davis in 1973. Upon his retirement in 1994, Glen and Ellen moved to Menlo Park, where he returned to clinical teaching at Stanford and took on his ombudsmen role.

Glen authored an influential textbook on chest diseases that has been translated into several languages, and wrote nearly 200 journal articles during his long career. His clear, elegant and often amusing writing style led to many medical journal board appointments and he particularly enjoyed doing short editorials, often recalling a personal experience or medical history anecdote.

Described by the Wall Street Journal as the nation's "unofficial curator of medical humor," Glen brought a joyful sense of fun to his lectures and hospital rounds. His warmth and compassion made him popular with generations of students, colleagues, and patients.

He won many awards and honors during his distinguished career including the California Medal from the California Lung Association (1995).

Glen's former resident and UC Davis colleague Dr. Samuel Louie said of Glen: "A generation of colleagues, physicians and professors has learned from Glen Lillington. A Professor for All Seasons, his important and pioneering accomplishments in the discipline of chest diseases are enhanced through his natural gift to teach young physicians the expertise necessary to provide consultation, and to bring a smile to a patient's face with his delightful bedside manner."

He is survived by sisters, Claire Burns (Robert) of Modesto and Barbara Williams (Roland) of Winnipeg; wife, Ellen, daughter, Karlin (Chris) of Dublin, Ireland; sons, Peter of Placerville and Barry (Dawn) of Fairfax; and grandson, Zachary.

Tags: teacher/educator, public service