Susan C. and John E. Dees Papers, 1933-1991

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Summary

Creator:
Dees, Susan Coons, 1909-2001.
Abstract:
Dr. Susan C. Dees, MD (1909-2001), founder and Division Chair of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (1948-1974), was one of the first female faculty physicians at Duke and the first female to achieve the rank of full Professor in the Duke Medical Center. Dr. John E. Dees, MD (1910-1993), a urologist, was a Professor of Urology at Duke, the second member of the Urology Faculty at Duke, and was known as a master surgeon and surgical innovator. This collection contains both their professional and personal papers. Types of materials include correspondence, slides, photographs, reprints, awards and honors, degrees, memberships and affiliations, clippings, a small amount of artifacts, a Robert (Bob) Blake painting, and an 8mm film reel. Materials date from 1933 to 1991.
Extent:
2.93 Linear Feet (1 carton, 1 flat box, 1 audiocassette box, 1 film canister, 1 map folder)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
MC.0090

Background

Scope and content:

Contains professional and personal materials of Drs. Susan C. and John E. Dees. Types of materials include correspondence, slides, photographs, reprints, awards and honors, degrees, memberships and affiliations, clippings, a small amount of artifacts, a Robert (Bob) Blake painting, and an 8mm film reel. Materials date from 1933 to 1991.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Susan C. Dees, MD
Dr. Susan Coons Dees, MD, was born in Hancock, Michigan, in 1909. She attended Lycee Victor Duruy (Paris, France) from 1925 to 1926, Michigan State University from 1926 to 1929, and Goucher College (Baltimore, Maryland) from 1929 to 1930. She received her MD from Johns Hopkins (1930-1934). She also attended the University of Minnesota from, 1937 to 1938, where she received an MS in Immunology and Pediatrics. In 1939, she became one of the first women faculty physicians at Duke University Medical Center, becoming a full Professor in 1958. She was the first female to achieve the rank of full Professor in the Duke Medical Center.

In 1948, she founded the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, serving as that division's chair until 1974. She also established Duke Hospital's School for Sick Children and was among the first to recognize Wiskott-Adlrich Primary Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Gastoresophogeal Reflux as a major trigger of asthma attacks.

Susan Dees authored and co-authored more than 60 articles. She belonged to numerous professional societies, including the Durham-Orange County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Academy of Allergy, and the American Pediatric Society. Susan married John Essary Dees in 1935, and they had four children. Susan Dees died on March 28, 2001.

Dr. John E. Dees, MD
Dr. John Essary Dees, MD, was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1910. He received his BS and MD degrees from the University of Virginia, was an Intern and Assistant Resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1933 to 1939, and was a Resident at Anker Hospital (St. Paul, Minnesota) from 1937 to 1938. He became an Assistant Professor of Urology at Duke University Medical Center in 1939, becoming a full professor in 1953. He was the second member of the Urology Faculty at Duke.

He was known as a master surgeon and surgical innovator. He was a member of numerous societies including American Medical Association, American Urological Association, North Carolina Urological Society, American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, Clinical Society of Genitourinary Surgeons, and Alpha Omega Alpha. In 1977, he became an honorary member of the Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association. John married Susan Coons Dees in 1935, and they had four children. John Dees died in 1993.

Acquisition information:
Accession A2003.034 (acquired, May 2003), Accession A2007.018 (gift by Susan C. Dees, January 2007), Accession A2020.057 (gift by Elizabeth Pulley, September 2020), Accession A2022.079 (gift by Debbie McKnight, October 2022)
Processing information:

Processed by Dawne Howard Lucas: May 2008; encoded by Dawne Howard Lucas: May 2008; updated by Lucy Waldrop: August 2022, December 2022

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Records, 1933-1991.
Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Duke University Medical Center Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Contents

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Restrictions:

None.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John E. and Susan C. Dees Papers, Duke University Medical Center Archives.