Ray W. Gifford, Jr, MD

Abstract

Through many years of knowing Ray W. Gifford, Jr, as a colleague, coworker, and friend, I came to recognize and appreciate that whatever he had to say was worth hearing, whether it concerned clinical and epidemiological concepts about hypertension, fundamental investigations, other medical areas, organizational responsibilities, or interpersonal relationships in their myriad of facets. He provided the perspective of a senior clinician and medical statesman as well as the wisdom and intellect of an active and inquiring mind. On May 4, 2004, Dr Ray Gifford died in his sleep after a 1-year illness. Ray Gifford was a graduate of Ohio State School of Medicine. After his training in internal medicine, he entered the US Navy, serving as the internal medical consultant to the US Congress for his entire naval service. During these years he was widely appreciated for his diagnostic ability and for his remarkable humane relationships. And, it was at the Capitol that he was introduced to the art and science of political interactions, not only with those who were elected to high office but in the later organizations that he served unstintingly. Following these years, he joined the staff of the Mayo Clinic, where he began his lifetime career in our field of hypertension. He left Mayo to join the staff of the Cleveland Clinic, where his talents were appreciated for almost 5 decades not only in heading his widely recognized program in hypertensive and renal diseases, but for his remarkable leadership talents in many other clinical, academic, and administrative areas. Ray Gifford was one of the leading clinicians and practitioners in the field of hypertension in the world. He played an active role in the clinical, scientific, and organizational interactions of the entire field of hypertension for 5 decades. Although Ray Gifford’s background was in the large …