John A. Boswick, M.D.
1926-1999

John A. Boswick was born and educated in Illinois. He received his medical education at Loyola University in Chicago, and graduated with both a Master of Arts Degree in Anatomy and M.D. degree. After his residency at Cook County Hospital, John advanced academically to Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University, Director of Surgical Services, and Director of the Sumner Koch Burn Center, and Hand Surgery Service at Cook County Hospital.

In 1972, Dr. Boswick and his family moved to Denver, Colorado, where he became Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado. Aside from his academic responsibilities, Dr. Boswick served the American Burn Association as its seventh President, and was also an officer of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He was a consultant for the United States Army, the World Health Organization, and served as Secretary General of the International Society for Burn Injuries. He authored more than 100 articles and chapters in surgical journals and edited several books on the art and science of burn care.

In 1984, Dr. Boswick retired from the University of Colorado to complete his career in private practice. In 1996, he and June moved to New Jersey to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Shortly before the move Dr. Boswick discovered that he was suffering from an incurable and progressive neurological disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Despite the prognosis, he maintained his research and consulting commitments, frequently having conferences at bedside, and later by voice activated telephone. He maintained communication with his friends, and linked many of us with similar interests in burn and wound healing.

Dr. Boswick will be missed but not forgotten, as his name and legacy to the care of the sick and injured are memorialized through the Tanner-Boswick-Vandeput prize of the International Society for Burn Injuries.

Since 1998 Dr. Paul Silverstein and Dr. Carlos Blanco have coordinated and directed the John A. Boswick, MD Burn and Wound Care Symposium.