In Memoriam

Abstract

HomeHypertensionVol. 75, No. 1In Memoriam Free AccessObituaryPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessObituaryPDF/EPUBIn MemoriamGerry McAlpin Trudie J. Meyer Trudie J. MeyerTrudie J. Meyer Correspondence to Trudie Meyer, Hypertension Managing Editor, American Heart Association National Center, 7272 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75231. Email E-mail Address: [email protected] Managing Editor, Hypertension Search for more papers by this author Originally published2 Dec 2019https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14365Hypertension. 2020;75:5Other version(s) of this articleYou are viewing the most recent version of this article. Previous versions: December 2, 2019: Ahead of Print It is with a heavy heart I report that Gerry McAlpin, Hypertension’s Assistant Managing Editor and longtime Hypertension employee, passed away very unexpectedly on October 24, 2019.Gerry began working for Hypertension in 2002 as Managing Editor with Dr John Hall as Editor-in-Chief. When Dr Hall finished his final term in 2012, Gerry kept her position at the University of Mississippi Medical Center next to Dr Hall, and simultaneously worked part-time for Hypertension as an Assistant Managing Editor under new Editor-in-Chief Anna Dominiczak and Managing Editor Denise Kuo. Gerry recently retired from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and her many years of service beside Dr Hall and moved to Tennessee to be closer to her sister’s family and to aid in the care of her aging mother.Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Hall had the following remembrances of Gerry:“I had the great privilege of working closely with Gerry for over 20 years. I admired her steady, calm professionalism, her intelligence, her superb technical expertise and especially her integrity. She served as the lead administrator for our Department of Physiology and Biophysics and then as Managing Editor of the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, from 1996 to 2001, and as Managing Editor of Hypertension from 2002 to 2012. We were extremely fortunate to benefit from Gerry’s expertise during the transition of both journals from cumbersome and inefficient systems for submission and review of hard-copy manuscripts (including a reviewer database that consisted mainly of 3 x 5 cards and the editor’s memory) to modern online, electronic processes. Most of us had no idea how to do this. The editors, editor assistants, and many of the authors and reviewers needed quite a bit of tutoring from Gerry. She was patient and unflappable and led us into a highly efficient and effective process for electronic submission as well as rapid review and publishing of manuscripts. Gerry was a reserved and humble person, a valued colleague, and a friend to those who had the privilege of getting to know her. Thank you Gerry. We will remember.”When I transitioned to Hypertension as Managing Editor just over a year ago, Gerry was extremely generous with her time and expertise to help the journal and myself succeed in any way she could. She was a steady and knowledgeable guide always supporting her colleagues and co-workers, Stephanie Allbritton and Renata Gil, at Hypertension. I think I speak for the Hypertension Editorial Office and the AHA journal portfolio when we say Gerry’s experience, guidance, sense of humor, honesty, and long tenure with the AHA journals will be deeply missed.On first glance, you may not expect it, but Gerry was always down for an adventure. She loved to travel and scuba dive. I am told she made a cheesecake so delicious that it made decent churchgoers argue over her last piece at a church event, resulting in a tug-of-war struggle with the cheesecake ending up on the floor. Knowing it was too good for the garbage, they quickly scooped it off the floor and decided maybe it would be better to share.Gerry is survived by her mother, Lena McAlpin; sister and brother in-law Tracie and Shane Woidtke; niece and nephew Skyler and Knox Woidtke; many cousins, 2 aunts and an uncle.Please join us in thinking of her family and our Hypertension Editorial Office as we mourn our friend and colleague.Trudie J. MeyerManaging Editor, HypertensionAcknowledgmentsThank you to Jonathan Schultz, Stephanie Allbritton and Renata Gil for draft review.FootnotesCorrespondence to Trudie Meyer, Hypertension Managing Editor, American Heart Association National Center, 7272 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75231. Email trudie.[email protected]org Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails January 2020Vol 75, Issue 1 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2019 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14365PMID: 31786972 Originally publishedDecember 2, 2019 PDF download Advertisement