Wednesday, April 23, 2025

A00099 - Lawrence Rogers Burwell, Amherst College Class of 1959, Dunbar High Grad and Case Western Reserve Medical School Alum Who Became Noted University of Virginia Cardiologist

Dr. Lawrence Rogers Burwell

1938 - 2022

BORN

1938

DIED

2022

About

Dunbar High School Amherst College Case Western Reserve University University of Rochester

Lawrence Burwell Obituary

Burwell

Dr. Lawrence Rogers Burwell

Dr. Lawrence Rogers Burwell, a trailblazing cardiologist, father of four, and grandfather of seven, died on July 28, 2022 at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA. He was 84.

Larry was born in Bluefield, WV, and spent his formative years in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Dunbar High School, shortly before the city began to integrate its public schools. After completion of high school, he became part of a long, storied line of prominent Black men to move from Dunbar to Amherst College in Amherst, MA, a group that included Charles Hamilton Houston, William Henry Hastie, and one of Larry's heroes in medicine, Charles R. Drew.

After graduating from Amherst with an honors degree in biology, Larry attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he met Ramona Ann Scott, who was enrolled in a graduate program at Case Western. They married in 1964, embarking on a remarkable journey of love.

In the mid-1960s, Dr. Burwell completed an internship and residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland and also served his country as a senior assistant surgeon in the U.S. Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. After a fellowship in cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and a faculty position at the University of Rochester, Larry and Ramona moved their family to Charlottesville in 1975 for a position at the University of Virginia. Dr. Burwell integrated the faculty of the School of Medicine, becoming the first (and, for many years, the only) Black doctor at the university's hospital. He was also the first Black member of the medical school faculty to receive tenure.

Larry was a technology buff – in the exam room, in the laboratory, and at home – and he was among the first American physicians to perform balloon angioplasty, having traveled to Switzerland in the 1970s to learn the procedure from the doctor who invented it. He led the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at the UVA Health Sciences Center and was also the Director of Interventional Cardiology there. During his long career, countless patients traveled hundreds of miles to consult him, and his sharp intellect and skilled hands allowed so many to avoid the deadly consequences of heart disease.

Dr. Burwell was a co-author of many published articles and was particularly proud of his service work to the school and mentorship of Black medical students. He served on the faculty senate, was a member of the medical school admissions committee and a subcommittee on minority students, and he also helped recruit an assistant to the president of the university to work solely on affirmative action matters. He was an active member of the American College of Cardiology, the Association of Black Cardiologists, and the American Heart Association, among other professional societies. He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, and in 2003 he was honored with the Laureate Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Physicians.

Larry retired in 2003, after 28 years at the university. In his final years, many of the physicians he had trained and mentored cared for him, too.

When he was not caring for patients, Larry served the greater Charlottesville community in a variety of capacities, including as a board member of St. Anne's-Belfield School, the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, and Computers4Kids. He enjoyed running, tennis, photography, and trading stocks online. He was an avid supporter of Virginia basketball and he was a devoted fan of Washington's NFL franchise, particularly in the glory years of the 1980s and early '90s.

But above all else, Larry treasured his family. Tragically, his world was upended in 1995 when Ramona passed away, far too young, from breast cancer. While he persevered through his faith and support from his extended family and many friends, Larry was never quite the same after the loss of his beloved Ramona.

Larry believed that his legacy was the four children that he and Ramona raised and in whom he had boundless pride. He is survived by Scott Burwell, his wife Shannon, and their daughter Serena; Steve Burwell, his wife Heidie, and their children Ellis and Scarlett; Lauren (Burwell) Lee, her husband David Lee, and their children Jackson and Miles; and Leigh (Burwell) Beal, her husband Scott Beal, and their children Henry and Anna. Dr. Burwell was also profoundly grateful for those who cared for him in his later years, Diane Brown, Nedra Brown, and Gayle Scott.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to support two causes that were of particular importance to him:

(1) The University of Virginia School of Medicine Summer Medical Leadership Program, which prepares students from underrepresented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds for careers in medicine. Donations can be directed to University of Virginia Medical School Foundation, P.O. Box, 37963, Boone, Iowa 50037. In the check memo, please indicate: SMLP #23232 in memory of Lawrence R. Burwell, MD. Donations may also be made online by visiting https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/18986/donations/new?designation=schoolofmedicineannualfund and typing "School of Medicine Summer Leadership Program" into the Designation box.

(2) Jefferson Area Board for Aging, which provides services and support to help older adults in central Virginia live independently. Donations can be directed to JABA, Inc., Philanthropy & Communications Office, 674 Hillsdale Drive, Suite 9, Charlottesville, VA 22901. Donations may be made online by visiting https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/3e5f23a4-ccce-487d-9e66-ef7074499ab2

Funeral services for Dr. Burwell will take place on Monday, August 15, 2022, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville. A visitation will begin at 10 a.m., followed by services at 11 a.m.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Washington Post on Aug. 10, 2022.

A00098 - Lawrence Rogers Burwell, Amherst College Class of 1959, Dunbar High Grad

Deceased July 28, 2022

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In Memory

Larry Burwell died on July 28, 2022, after a lengthy and debilitating illness. With birthdays merely one month apart and childhood homes a mere city block away from one another, our friendship lasted for more than 80 years. Larry’s recent passing is a personal loss to me as well as to his lovely family, colleagues and patients. We played together as toddlers, and when formal education began, we both enrolled at Lucy Diggs Slowe Elementary, Benjamin Banneker Junior High and Paul Lawrence Dunbar High Schools in Washington, D.C.

At Dunbar, Larry played football and was lieutenant colonel in the Dunbar Cadet Corps. He was a leader on the Student Council and the Principal’s Advisory Council. He was also a Boy Scout in Troop #527, hosted by Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington., D.C.

We graduated at the top of our class from Dunbar in 1955 and were recruited actively by local Black alumni from Amherst College. Amherst was always the first choice for Larry and me. So when we, along with Bob Jason ’59, received admission letters to Amherst, we eagerly accepted spots in the class of ’59. We pledged the two local fraternities on campus at that time. Larry joined Phi Psi; Bob and I joined Kappa Theta.

Larry majored in biology and graduated cum laude. His thesis research was on fruit fly genetics with Professor Bill Hexter. Both of us were science-oriented and interested in the health professions. We spent many an hour while at Amherst in the biology library or sitting atop Memorial Hill, talking through issues and options, various pathways, personal objectives and future aspirations. Those discussions served to shape and reinforce our respective plans and decisions.

After graduation, our paths were nearly set to continue in medical studies at Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. However, my faculty interviewer at WRU encouraged me to consider applying to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, to which he was about to relocate. After visiting Michigan, I decided to enroll in their medical science program. Hence, we diverged paths at that point. He moved to Cleveland, finished the M.D. degree with honors at WRU and matched for a residency at the Cleveland Clinic. Larry chose a career practicing clinical medicine as an academician; my preference was basic biomedical scientific research, teaching and administration as a medical educator. Though approached from different perspectives, we both ended up in academic medicine.

Larry excelled academically, graduated at the top of his medical class and earned induction into the medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. His choice of specialties was internal medicine with a concentration in cardiology. For postgraduate training, he accepted a position at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and continued his training at Mass. General Hospital in Boston. After a brief faculty appointment at the University of Rochester, Larry joined the medical staff at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. A distinguished career as an expert diagnostician of adult cardiac diseases and a pioneer practitioner of balloon angioplasty followed at UVA Medical Center.

As best man in Larry’s wedding to Ramona Scott in 1964, I continued to remain close. When his first son, Lawrence Scott Burwell ’90, was born, Larry asked me to be his godfather. However, fulfillment of that honor was impractical because of the physical distance between us and our respectively busy schedules.

Larry was a gentleman, a scholar and a devoted husband and father. Ramona’s early loss was devastating, leaving him a widower with four children. However, Larry kept his focus and devotion to his patients, his family and many interests, including photography. When Larry learned of my engagement in underwater photography, another shared interest emerged. We exchanged photographs and discussed limitations of working with still and video cameras in submerged settings.

We spoke often about attending reunions. He returned to Dunbar for our 50th and to Amherst for our 50th Reunions. Because of international research commitments, I missed both events but learned about what went on and always felt connected through Larry. We compared notes infrequently by phone and email, representing one another when not together.

In 2009, an Amherst student, Amanda Bass ’10, who was researching Dunbar High School, interviewed Larry and me to get information about the history of Dunbar. Her honors thesis was entitled “The Crimson Tide: Oral Histories of Dunbar High School.” Amanda accompanied Larry to the 50th high school reunion in 2005, a highlight for both of them.

We were invited to write a contribution about being Black at Amherst for the 50th Reunion class booklet. Since Bob Jason ’59 and Tony Creswell ’59, the other Black students in our class, had died, the task was left to Larry and me to complete. Our joint contribution to the class of ’59’s memento, “… the journey continues,” was a major joint effort that led to the creation of an article entitled “Young, Gifted and Black at Amherst College–1955-1959.” My draft of the original text got us started. Larry added several new issues, smoothed over rough spots and moderated the tone of our joint message. We steadily revised the document, improving it as we edited through email exchanges. That cooperative process resulted in a final statement that was published.

Larry attended our 50th from Amherst and joined a panel discussing the status of modern medicine. I waited until the 60th to return, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also asked to be a medical panelist, I discussed advancements in medical education and the emergence of patient-centered services since the 1950’s. At the 60th Reunion in 2019, an Amherst faculty member and dean of faculty cited our “Young, Gifted and Black” text in a report that she had prepared to compare and contrast the Black student experiences at Amherst in prior decades with the present. She referenced our description of challenges, social isolation and lack of support from the College to more recent positive experiences enjoyed by Black students. It was a surprise to hear her account. She was not aware of my presence, nor had I expected that our article would be mentioned. After the presentation, I introduced myself as one of the authors of that article. She appeared pleased to meet me.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia. When I told Larry, his response was not to worry. He assured me that many otherwise healthy individuals receive the same diagnosis which is not clinically significant. His reassurance was a great relief, and I sincerely appreciated his reassurance.

Recently, two book chapters have been published by Amherst College Press, authored by an Amherst student, Matt Randolph ’16, a Black student from Baltimore. He has highlighted the Dunbar-Amherst connection over many years. These excellent summaries include interviews with me and other Black alumni. They are included in two publications. One is entitled Amherst in the World (2020), edited by Martha Saxton. Matt’s chapter is entitled “Remembering Dunbar: Amherst College and African American Education in Washington, D.C.” That article mentions Larry, Bob Jason ’59 and me as recruits from the Dunbar Class of ’55. The other book is authored by Nancy Pick and is entitled Eye Mind Heart: A View of Amherst College at 200 (2020). Matt’s contribution is “1903-1957, the Dunbar High School Pipeline.” Both of these publications reference the long pipeline from Dunbar to Amherst.

Larry is survived by four very accomplished adult children: Scott ’90, Steve ’93, Leigh ’03 and Lauren (Williams ’96), and their respective families. He will be missed by them and by many grandchildren, colleagues, patients and friends. However, each of us will retain fond memories of Dr. Larry Burwell’s professional intellect and dedicated work ethic, as well as his calm, gentle demeanor and his warm and caring heart. May he rest in peace.

Ray Hayes ’59

A00097 - Edward David Crockett, Jr., Amherst College Class of 1958, Dunbar High Grad, Howard Medical School Alum, and Jazz Musician Extraordinaire

EDWARD CROCKETT (1937-1985)

Ed Crockett was perhaps the most gifted instrumental musician in the Class. He was a popular musical director of the College Sixteen, a member of the Band and social chairman of Phi Psi. He majored in music while completing pre-med studies, demonstrating the unusual combination of interests that marked his life.

Ed came to Amherst from Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., and returned to Washington to complete medical studies at Howard University, specializing in pulmonary diseases. After a twoyear tour in the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Hospital, he returned to Washington to join Howard’s medical faculty. He enjoyed teaching and soon became vice-chairman of the Department of Medicine for student medical education. Some Howard students had to work parttime as they pursued medical school full-time. Ed developed successful programs so they would not fall behind in their studies and clinical skill development.

In 1969, Ed also began a private practice in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases. When the practice grew substantially, Ed finally gave up his teaching to devote full time to it.

He met his second wife, Dr. Mary Alice Johnson Crockett, in medical school. She remembers that Ed “prized his Amherst education and his degree in music. Music always remained an integral part of his life. He played gigs throughout the medical school and residency years. He played the saxophone and clarinet less and less and the piano more. During medical school he retained a regular Thursday night gig at the Bohemian Taverns on U Street. After this period he became a musical spectator! We attended jazz performances almost every weekend.”

He was also an amateur photographer and pursued this hobby with a passion. “He created art with the camera,” Mary Alice says. “Some of his works decorate the walls of our home.”

Ed died in 1985 when his younger children were still in high school, but his legacy lives on in their life choices. His oldest daughter Sharon studied at Johns Hopkins and Columbia. With her MBA she has had a successful career in the securities industry, most recently as a senior portfolio research analyst with Western Asset Management.

Mary Alice’s younger children, Teddy and Alison, were “saturated” with music “from the uterus onward and music has become their life’s work!” Both have web sites. Teddy studied music at Morehouse, Howard and Berklee College of Music. He owns The Crockett Gallery, a company that produces and manages musicians and music groups – including sister Alison. Teddy’s performing gifts are multi-instrumental with emphasis on guitar. He has performed with groups all over the world and with his sister.

Alison is a vocalist who studied voice at Syracuse University and jazz performance at Temple and Manhattan School of Music. She too has toured extensively, and also is on the faculty at George Washington University. She formerly conducted a choir that appeared on the Today Show and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Mary Alice knows that Ed would have been ”greatly excited” about these musical careers.

Mary Alice pursued a distinguished medical career of her own. She continued Ed’s practice while simultaneously serving as Medical Director of the D.C. Home Care Services Bureau and later the D.C. Village Nursing Center. She’s been “almost retired” since 2004. “ I am more involved as a grandmother [Sharon’s daughter], a cheerleader for our children, and as the health minister of our church. I provide volunteer medical care in Mississippi.”

Edward David Crockett Jr. died of colon cancer Dec. 12, 1985.


Ed with his son, Teddy, in the summer of 1985, at Ed's sister-in-law's home in Conway, S.C. Ed died later that year.	Ed, from the 1958 Olio section on the College Sixteen, which Ed directed and for which he did much of the arranging.

Tags: Edward Crockett '58

A00096 - Marshall Rudd Holley, Amherst College Class of 1957, Howard Medical School Alum,

Marshall Holley

Posted: Dec 7, 2010 8:02 am

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A00095 - Marshall Rudd Holley, Amherst College Class of 1957

Dr. Marshall Rudd Holley

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Amherst College

Marshall Holley Obituary

HOLLEY, DR. MARSHALL RUDD Dr. Marshall Rudd Holley, 75, beloved husband, father, brother, and uncle died at his home in New Haven on December 5, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. Dr. Holley is survived by his wife Teresita Abaya Holley, his son David Marshall Holley, his brother William Arthur (Joan) Holley Jr., sisters Vermelle Paris, and Bernice Willis, niece Holley Willis, nephews William A. Holley III, Patrick Holley (Leigh), grand nephew William A. Holley (IV), grand niece Palmer Holley, and grand nephew William Pierce Holley. Dr. Holley was born in New Haven, CT, on July 24, 1935, son of the late Dr. William Arthur Holley and Vermelle (Campbell) Holley. He graduated from James Hillhouse High School in 1953; Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957; and Howard University College of Medicine with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1961. He interned in the United States Air Force Hospital at Wright -Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and completed his residency in Obstetrics - Gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1969. He served in the United States Air Force with the rank of Captain from 1961-1965 and had duty stations in Japan, the Philippines, and Washington, D.C. He established a private practice of Obstetrics-Gynecology in New Haven and Branford, Connecticut in 1969 and practiced for more than three decades. He was the obstetrician-gynecologist at the Hill Health Center from 1969-1980 where he received the great admiration and respect of the young mothers with whom he worked. He was a Clinical Instructor and an Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics-Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine. He was a Diplomat and a Fellow of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was a member of the Admissions Committee for the Yale University College of Medicine, and served on the Perinatal & Mortality Committee and the OB-GYN Executive Committee of Yale New Haven Hospital. He was treasurer of the New Haven Independent Practice Association. In 1995, he was recipient of the Stanley Lavietes OB-GYN Award presented to the community physician voted by the Yale Obstetrics and Gynecology residents as representing an outstanding example of superb patient care, devotion to resident teaching, and overall clinical excellence. Dr. Holley was a member of many professional associations, including the National Medical Association; the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology; the Connecticut State Medical Society; the New Haven County Medical Association; and the New Haven Obstetrical Society. He served on the board of directors of Community Housing Inc.; the American Cancer Society; Family Services, Inc.; the New Haven Urban League; the Women's Health Services; the Southern Connecticut State College Foundation, and Connecticut Savings Bank. He was president of the Dixwell Community House in 1977-81 and was president of the New Haven Obstetrical Society in 1980. An avid tennis player he was president of the New Haven Racquet Wielder's Tennis Club and on the board of the American Tennis Association and the New England Tennis Association (NELTA) for many years. He was president of NELTA from 1979-1983 and served as its tournament director every July at the Yale Tennis Courts in New Haven. Dr. Holley retired from the practice of obstetrics-gynecology in December 2002, so that he could spend more time with his wife Teresita and son David and concentrate on his loves of tennis and gardening. Dr. Holley had a long and distinguished career. He was loved, admired, and respected by all whose lives he touched in so many ways. His memory will live forever in the hearts of those who knew him. Arrangements under the direction of the Howard K. Hill Funeral Home are private and there are no calling hours. A memorial service celebrating the life of Dr. Holley will be held in the New Year. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to one of the following charities: The United Negro College Fund, The New Haven Scholarship Fund, or Planned Parenthood. To sign a memorial book for the Holley family, please visit the website: http://hkhfuneralservices.com.

A00094 - Marshall Rudd Holley, Amherst College Class of 1957

Marshall R. Holley ’57 died December 5, 2010.

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MARSHALL R. HOLLEY ’57

It is with great sadness I must report the passing of Marsh Holley on Dec. 5, 2010, after a long battle with cancer. Survived by his wife Teresita, son David, brother William, sisters Vermelle and Bernice, six nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews; he will obviously be missed by many.

Marsh is remembered fondly by his Amherst classmates. His Kappa Theta fraternity brother, Ed Gardiner recalls, “Marsh loved the company of others, and his infectious humor permeated any atmosphere he entered. I easily conjure up his smile and the all-encompassing warmth of his gaze.”

After Amherst, Marsh attended Howard University College of Medicine where he received his doctor of medicine degree in 1961. He interned in the U.S. Air Force and completed his residency in obstetrics-gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1969. There followed a long and distinguished career in his chosen field in his hometown of New Haven.

Marsh’s awards and accomplishments were numerous. He found time to serve on numerous committees and boards and was a clinical instructor and an associate clinical professor of obstetrics-gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine where he also was a member of the admissions committee. In 1995, he received an award from the residents he taught “as representing an outstanding example of superb patient care, devotion to resident training and overall clinical excellence.”

One does not accomplish what Marsh did without exceptional effort and focus. Classmate Bob Twombly recalls, “I lived door-to-door with Marsh for two years and interrupted his ferocious studying with what he must have felt as annoying regularity. It never dimmed his remarkable smile or stilled his gentleness of voice. He never advertised this personal compulsiveness or how hard he had been on himself, and how secretly set apart this had made him. A paradox, since he always seemed the friendliest person in the house.”

Marsh, your life was full, your contributions to mankind exceptional, may you rest in peace.

—Bill Donohue ’57

A00093 - Harold Haizlip, Amherst College Class of 1957, Dunbar High Grad and Harvard Education School Alum

Deceased January 31, 2018

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In Memory

Harold is best remembered for his smile—joyful and spontaneous. It was probably why Dean Eugene Wilson chose him for the class of ’57—one of two black freshmen and one of eight black undergraduates.

Harold’s father, a Pullman porter, died when Harold was 10. That same year Harold’s grade school teacher, Nora Drew Gregory—the sister of Dr. Charles Drew (Amherst ’26 and in whose honor the former Phi Psi house was renamed)—told Harold to plan on attending Amherst. And he did.

He came to Amherst from Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. Its faculty was outstanding—80 percent of graduates went on to college—and Harold was class valedictorian.

Harold joined Phi Alpha Psi. Through him many of his fraternity brothers gained their first insights into the black experience in America. He did this with compassion and, often, forgiveness. He graduated cum laude in Greek and Latin.

As a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Harvard, he earned a master’s in classics and education and a doctorate in education policy and management. The rest of his life was spent helping young people—particularly the marginalized—realize their full potential. A teacher and educator, he worked with foundations, private schools, education systems and community colleges on both coasts and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where for eight years he was commissioner of education. In retirement he organized a free after-school arts program for over 50,000 lower income Los Angeles students. And he was honored as a Purpose Prize fellow—“a kind of MacArthur genius award for retirees.”

Harold married Shirlee Taylor, Wellesley ’59—Harold’s equal in every way. She was an author (including “The Sweeter the Juice,” a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), a teacher and an arts administrator. Daughters Deirdre and Melissa sadly chose Yale.

In our 50th reunion book Harold wrote, “At some future time I will think seriously about retiring. But not today, not this week, not this month. I have too much yet to do. And so does America.”

Harold died of heart failure, in his sleep, on Jan. 31, 2018. He was 82.

John Thompson ’57
Tom Herzog ’57