Urology pioneers Drs. Lattimer, Devine remembered

The deaths of two internationally known urologists who helped lay the foundations of pediatric and reconstructive urology were announced recently.

John Kingsley Lattimer, MD, who for 25 years served as professor and chairman of the department of urology, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, and was a pioneer in the subspecialty of pediatric urology, died May 9 in a hospice near his home in Englewood, NJ, at age 92.

Dr. Lattimer received his medical degree from the university in 1938, and joined the staff of the Squier Urological Clinic at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University, as a physician and educator. In addition to his work in pediatric urology, he pioneered the use of streptomycin for treatment of renal tuberculosis, and represented the United States at the World Health Organization.

An expert in ballistics, Dr. Lattimer was the first civilian expert to examine the forensic evidence in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and he corroborated the findings of the Warren Commission report on the crime. A World War II veteran, he participated in the Normandy Invasion as an army doctor.

Dr. Lattimer also was known for his collection of historical artifacts and armaments.

He is survived by his wife Jamie, three children, and one grandson. Both of his sons are urologists in Hawaii.

The founder of the urology residency program at the Norfolk General Hospital and DePaul Medical Center, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Patrick Devine, MD, died on April 12 at the age of 81.

A second-generation urologist, Dr. Devine and his brother Charles, Jr., also a urologist, collaborated on numerous groundbreaking research studies in the subspecialty of reconstructive urology. Dr. Devine was a fellow in the American College of Surgeons, served as president of the AUA Mid-Atlantic section (1973-74), and served as president of the medical staff of what is now the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center.

He helped to establish the Endowed Devine Family Chair in Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery at EVMS in memory of his father and brother.