Robert T. Mcelroy, Md

On January 20, 2023, in the comfort of his home and with his wife of 58 years by his side, Robert "Bob" McElroy passed away.

Bob is survived by his wife Jean, sons Tom and Will, granddaughters Hannah and Fiona, sisters Sandra and Sara, and an abundance of nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces as well as his grand-dog Hamish. He was preceded in death by his twin brother, Bill.

After receiving his diploma from Washburn Rural High School (where his father was principal and later superintendent and where they would both become members of the Hall of Fame) Bob attended Geneva College in Pennsylvania before transferring and graduating from Kansas State University. After considering veterinary medicine and psychiatry, Bob went on to become a general surgeon, earning his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School.

After med school, Bob moved to California with his brother where they both had internships, taking advantage of the proximity to Yosemite to pursue their interest in rock climbing. Bob remained in the San Francisco Bay area for his residency, where he had begun attending First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and traveling to Southern California to see Katharine "Jeannie" Finlay, a young school teacher who he had first met as a college friend of his sister's. After his third year of residency (and having successfully wooed and married Jean), Bob had his first venture in what would become a lifetime of service, taking his new bride to a remote mission hospital 400 miles outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

His first sojourn as a medical mission "bush doctor" lasted for two years, after which he returned to California to complete his surgical residency, ultimately going into practice in Watsonville on the coast of the Monterey Bay. During this time, he nurtured a new-found love of coastal sailing, a love which he would end up passing on to his children and extended family, although not, perhaps, to his wife. Although he would leave California, he maintained his zest for sailing throughout his life, taking bare boat charter trips on both coasts of the United States, in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, with his last charter taking place in Maine in July 2021. Over time, Bob's interest in boating expanded into boat building, with the results of his craftsmanship appearing in Wooden Boat magazine.

Despite the opportunities for sailing presented by living on the California coast, Bob realized that his medical practice was unlikely to ever be more than moderately busy, and that, as much as he loved sailing, he had not spent all those years in medical training to end up racing sailboats. In his own words he, therefore, began negotiations with his wife to relocate the family, which now included two young boys, to Topeka, Kansas, where an offer had been made for him to enter practice with Dr. Charles Joss. Together they developed an active surgical practice with a heavy emphasis on abdominal and colorectal surgery, performing a number of procedures that they either introduced to Topeka or that had previously only been performed on an exceptionally limited basis. Bob would go on to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and was later one of the first two surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery in Topeka. He served as Vice Chief of Surgery and then Chief of Surgery at Stormont Vail Regional Medical Center and would later go on to serve as Chairman of the Credentials Committee and then Chief of Staff, also at Stormont Vail. He received an academic appointment from his alma mater, Kansas University Medical School as a Clinical Professor of Surgery and also served on the board of Blue Cross Blue Shield for three years.

Despite a dearth of coastal sailing venues, Kansas did provide plenty of opportunities for Bob to pursue another of his great joys – horses, specifically Tennessee Walkers. Bob kept horses on farm and lake property south of Topeka, where friends and family could participate in other activities, including skeet shooting, hiking, camping and water skiing, but where horseback riding was inevitable. This property also provided a location to explore uncultivated intact prairie and to observe the wildlife and wildflowers that flourished in unplowed land. Bob served on the board of Audubon of Kansas from its inception, including tenures as Vice Chair and Chairman. In 2003, he was recognized by Audubon of Kansas with the Excellence in Conservation Leadership Award.

After Dr. Joss retired in 1983, Bob flew solo for a few years until the successful recruitment of a bright young surgeon and the creation of the McElroy Surgical Group. The practice continued to grow and add partners and in 1998 he initiated a series of conversations with other local surgical practices to more formally organize in an effort to meet the many challenges facing modern surgery. This would eventually lead to the creation of the Tallgrass Surgery Group, of which Bob served as Founding President until his retirement.

Although he had a flourishing local practice, Bob's interest in the developing world never waned and he went on a succession of shorter medical mission focused trips, first returning to Ethiopia for four weeks and then spending time in the Honduras, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Ecuador. In 1980 he established a relationship with the Bon Samaritan Hospital in Limbe, Haiti, performing surgery for one-to-two-week periods several times a year and where he would return more than thirty times. His life of service was not limited to medicine. He served for numerous years on the board of the Mendenhall Ministries, a black led self-help organization including a school, community law office, family service outreach and community recreation center in rural Mississippi, and for more than twenty years he sat on the board of the Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas. Bob was proud to be a member of the Topeka Fortnightly Club, where he presented a paper on Medicine in the Third World.

Although "Sweet Ol' Bob" retired from active medical practice in 2003, he maintained his commitment to medical outreach in underserved regions of the developing world. Through a group called Provadenic in Managua, Nicaragua, which would grow and become AMOS Health & Hope, he traveled to remote clinics – once by a twelve-mile mule ride – where he educated young health workers about basic trauma and wound care as well as suturing technique. These health workers have had a profound impact on the state of healthcare in rural Nicaragua, particularly for the children. In addition to providing this clinical education, he also served on the board of AMOS Health & Hope for many years. In honor of "his compassionate service in providing exceptional surgical care to those in Haiti and Nicaragua", Bob was presented with the Fred and Anne Pillsbury Distinguished Service Award by the Central Baptist Theological Seminary. At the 8th Annual Caritas Ball, he received the 2014 Heart of St. Francis Award in recognition of his "passion and commitment to a healthy and vibrant community…not only on the job but through significant volunteer service in the broader community and the world."

The service will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 817 SW Harrison Street in Topeka, on Friday, February 17th, at 2:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to either AMOS Health & Hope, Inc., P.O. Box 6155, Hermitage, PA, 16148-0922 (www.amoshealth.org) or First Presbyterian Church of Topeka, 817 SW Harrison St., Topeka, KS, 66612.

"…Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?" The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25: 37 – 40