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Written by Jeff Radford
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Saturday, 09 December 2006 |
Corrales surgeon Philip Jacob died at his bosque home here November 28 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 67.
Jacob was honored earlier this year by a panel of his peers as the state’s top vascular surgeon.
He had served as president of the Rocky Mountain Vascular Surgery
Society, and in 2005 was presented with Presbyterian Hospital’s Hugh
Cooper Award for “superior health care delivery and service to the
community.”
Jacob earned wide respect and friendships as a mentor to scores of medical students over three decades.
Born in Erode, India, where he started his medical career, he and his
wife, Shireen Jacob, immigrated to the United States in 1968 to
complete his training in cardio-thoracic surgery at the
University of New Mexico.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 9 at St. Michael’s
and All Angels Episcopal Church, 601 Montano NW in the North Valley,
beginning at 2 p.m.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations might be made to the Albuquerque Animal Humane Association.
Following in the footsteps of his father, a dental surgeon, he studied
at Kakinada Medical School in India and did his internship at Vellore
University. That is where he met physician Bud Wilson who helped Jacob
enter the medical residency program at the University of New Mexico.
He became the UNM medical school’s first cardio-thoracic surgery
resident under the mentorship of Sterling Edwards. After a fellowship
in Milwaukee, Jacob returned to New Mexico to work in Bud Wilson’s
surgery group for one year before starting his own solo practice.
The Jacobs bought a run-down house in Corrales adjacent to the bosque
in 1978, and gradually renovated it. For relaxation, the surgeon built
two ponds on his property.
“My father was really attracted to Corrales and its open space,
especially after coming from India where everything is so crowded,”
said his daughter Mira. “This was a wonderful place to live his life.
“He really admired the kind of life people here have, and spunk this community has, and he fit right in.”
He and Shireen have been loyal supporters of the Corrales Library,
among other local causes. Until recent years, they had offered
home-style Indian meals at auction as part of the Friends of the
Corrales Library’s annual fundraiser.
They were also supporters of the Corrales Recreation Center and the Corrales Bosque Nature Preserve.
He is survived by his wife, Shireen, daughter Mira Jacob and son Arun
Jacob, as well as his sister Prema and grandchildren Kiran and Leela. |
