Joseph Smith McGuire, Jr.,  MD

From the coal mines of Logan, W.Va., to the halls of Yale Medical School, Joe Jr. accomplished many things. DR. JOSEPH SMITH McGUIRE JR. passed away peacefully in his sleep on Oct 4, 2019, in New York City. He was surrounded by his family whom he loved. Dr. McGuire was born April 19, 1931, in Logan, West Virginia. He was the son of Ruby Rose and Joseph Smith McGuire Sr. Dr. McGuire graduated from West Virginia University in just three years, and attended The Yale School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1955. He pursued his residency in dermatology at Yale and eventually joined the faculty there as Professor of Pediatric Dermatology. His research concentrated on the biology of skin cells in blistering diseases, and he served as the President of the Society of Investigative Dermatology in 1986. In 1989 he was recruited by Stanford University School of Medicine to join the faculty as the Carl J. Herzog Professor of Dermatology. He is lovingly remembered as an educator, professor, artist, poet and above all a loving and supportive father and confidant. His sense of humor was undeniably brilliant, and he was making us laugh until the end. He enjoyed sailing, reading, language and was in constant pursuit of knowledge. His children will miss his clever wit, hiking to the Stanford Dish and his uniquely prepared home-cooked meals that often involved culinary experiments. He is survived by his sister, Jane, and his children, Beth, Joseph, Alison, Thompson, Joshua Lake, Lindsay and Scott McGuire. Also by his grandchildren, Henry, Ethan, Casey, Sean, Bing, Emma Lake, Catherine and Grace. In addition to his success as a father and universal hobbyist, he was an outstanding pediatric dermatologist, dedicated to his patients and to his research. He is fondly remembered by his colleague, Dr. Eugene Bauer, former Chair of Dermatology and Dean of Stanford Medical School as "a wonderfully benign iconoclast…. always driven to truth and compassion for those whom he encountered."