Geoffrey Booth, January 19, 1997
Dr. Geoffrey K. Booth, chief of psychiatric outpatient services at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Francisco and an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UC-San Francisco, died of heart failure Jan. 19. He was 49.
Dr. Booth, a Tiburon resident, grew up in Boston and Westport, Conn., and graduated from Yale University and Georgetown Medical School.
He joined the Navy in 1971 and completed his residency training in psychology at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, where he became chief resident in 1975. He later served there as director of residency training.
After being honorably discharged, he began his career with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Francisco, working as assistant medical director of the substance abuse treatment unit. He was later promoted to assistant chief of the mental hygiene clinic before becoming chief of psychiatric outpatient services in 1986.
In 1981, Dr. Booth started teaching at UCSF as an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, and was promoted to associate professor in 1992. In 1984, he received the Teaching Award from the graduating class at UCSF.
There will be a gathering at his home in Tiburon from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Published in the SF Examiner on January 29, 1997
[in_memoriam_closing]
Recently, I came across some thoughts put to paper back in May 1997 after visiting Geoff in January of that year.
“On January 10, I was in Los Angeles on business and flew up to San Francisco to see Geoff. It was a bittersweet reunion. After an opening bearhug and a tour of the city, we returned to his home, where we kicked off our shoes, propped our sock-heeled feet up on the twin sofas in his family room, and reminisced about our Yale years (we roomed together our Sophomore year), gossiped about what had happened in our lives and those of others since then, and talked about what might lay ahead–I had turned 50 three days before, and Geoff was to turn 50 in less than three weeks. Our time was also laden with sadness because Geoff had lost his father less than a year before, and Geoff’s partner of many years had died less than five months later. In the week that followed we saw much of each other. I then left for home in Alabama, but with the promise to return in June with my wife and son and to take him up on his offer of the use of half of his generous home. Geoff died two days later, of heart failure.
Whether the events in our lives are mere chaos, or whether they have some connection or logic, is beyond my comprehension–or faith. But throughout the weekend Geoff and I shared, he repeatedly said that he wanted some ‘closure’ (his word) with the past, and, in particular, with those Yale friends with whom he had lost touch. As those who knew Geoff know, he was outwardly gregarious, but inside he was very shy and found it difficult to reach out.
I found Geoff, only to lose him again–but I think I was ‘chosen’ to pass on, to relay to those who knew and loved him ‘back then,’ that his 25 years after Yale were warm and happy ones, and that he thought of us all often. I miss him very much.”
Myron H. Thompson ‘69
October 9, 2017