A cherished colleague passed away at his home on September 10, Charles A. deProsse, MD. He was 95. Dr. deProsse was AUGS’ 14th President serving in 1992-1993.
Dr. deProsse led an interesting and full life. In his late teens, he worked as a gravedigger for 90 cents an hour and after graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Navy V-12 program (an accelerated officer training program) and attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He then attended Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York City. After graduating he completed an internship at St. Lukes Hospital in NYC and then fulfilled his obligation to the Armed Services by serving on active duty in the US Naval Reserve during the Korean War; he was honorably discharged as a Lt. Senior Grade.
From 1953-58 he was a resident in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York Lying-in Hospital, and in his last year of residency he was Chief Resident. Returning to Ithaca, Dr. deProsse was in private practice for twelve years before working in the United States government health service in St. Thomas, VI. Returning stateside, he attended the School of Public Health at the University of California-Berkeley, graduating with a Masters in Maternal and Child Health.
In 1972 he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Medicine and remained there until retiring in April 1996. Dr. deProsse helped establish the Urogynecology Division of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition to FPMRS, he dedicated his time and energy to promoting women’s health in numerous other ways, including working closely with the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, serving as director of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics pregnancy termination service, assisting the Nicaraguan government to establish maternal health programs, serving on the Johnson County Department of Public Health Board of Directors and serving as medical director for the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women in Iowa City.
Dr. deProsse was an avid mountaineer, runner, and bicyclist and loved jigsaw puzzles, learning, and reading. He is survived by his wife Carol, his four children, and four grandchildren. In the furtherance of science, Dr. deProsse deeded his body to the Anatomy Department at the University of Iowa. His family wishes him to be remembered by his friends and patients as a kind person to all he knew, for his sense of humor, his love of his many dogs and cats, and for his abiding commitment to women’s autonomy.
Holly E. Richter, PhD, MD