Edward Raymond Boyle – 50th Reunion Essay

Edward Raymond Boyle

Date of Death: 22-Dec-1999

College: Saybrook

Dr. Edward Boyle died in December 1999. His death, and his last years, were shrouded in mystery until we found this 2002 eulogy from the Brooke Army Medical Center (the full report is online): “(Ed) graduated from medical school at State University of New York – Downstate in 1973. It was during medical school, on a flight back from Port Au Prince, Haiti, when something caught his eye—his future wife Marie Charles. They married in Haiti in 1971. After Boyle finished his residency program, he returned to Haiti to serve as Chief of Medicine at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. In 1987 he sold his private practice and joined the radiology residency program at Ohio State University. He soon realized he loved teaching as much as practicing medicine.

So in 1994, he found an opportunity to do both and concentrate on mammography at BAMC, seizing the opportunity to both teach and practice medicine, especially radiology. He dedicated himself to improving the quality and reputation of the mammography section, a place he knew wasn’t nearly as sensitive to women as it should be. “He recognized the need to have this sensitive area of radiology separated,” said LTC (Dr.) John Black, who worked with Boyle. “It’s a very stressful time when you think you have breast cancer, and being in the same hallway with someone having their ankle x-rayed just isn’t sensitive. He knew that it needed a separate facility.” The man who devoted his life to breast cancer soon discovered he had pancreatic cancer. He went through two major surgeries in September and December of 1994 to remove it, but five years later, the cancer returned.

During his last five years, Boyle reorganized the training programs for residents and staff at the medical center, serving as Chief of the Radiology Resident Training Program for SAUSHEC. In Boyle’s final weeks alive, he was stricken to a bed, knowing he would die soon. But his heart was strong. He allowed the residents to come visit him at his house when he was drinking water through a straw via a tube through his stomach. He would give away his medical books to the residents and sign them with inspirational notes. And now, his life will be remembered at the new mammography wing he spent the last years of his life building. And under his picture will be the words, “Dr. Edward Boyle, MD. Founder and Advocate of the Brooke Army Medical Center Women’s Imaging Center. Friend, Colleague, Teacher, Mentor. A Courageous Leader Who Put the Needs of his Patients and Students First.” To LTC Black it was the least they could do for Boyle. “He inspired people to the point where people still remember his actions years later,” Black said. “And now it’s our turn to ensure he is not forgotten.” Ed was indeed a man in full, and an inspiration to us all.