David C. Thomasma, PhD., 62, of Elmhurst, beloved husband of Doris, nee Isley; fond father of Pieter (Alisha), Lisa (John), Emily Kulpa and Stephanie Kulpa; grandfather of Alexis, Braden and Adam; dear son of Charles (Mary) and the late Rosemary; brother of Robert (Bette), Kathleen (Bob) Rommel, Elizabeth, Thomas (Janice), Michael (Catherine) and Teresa. Dr. Thomasma is the Fr. Michael I. English, S.J., Professor of Medical Ethics in the Neiswanger Institute of Bioethics and Health Policy at Loyola University Chicago Medical Center, where he established and directed the Medical Humanities Program in 1981 until 2000. Before that, he inaugurated the Medical Ethics Program at the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis in 1973. At both Universities, he established and was Chief of the Ethics Consult Services. He received his Ph.D in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After 18 years as Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Theoretical Medicine & Bioethics, he now serves as editor emeritus. He is founding coeditor of Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and is on the editorial board of several other journals, including The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, and Kos. He is founding co-editor of a Kluwer book series called International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, which now has 12 volumes. He is a bioethics consultant for various health care corporations and agencies, in the past including the American Hospital Association, and Catholic Health Association, and presently including health care systems and nursing homes. Dr. Thomasma has presented over 1200 Keynote addresses, lectures and papers to professional groups and societies. He was President of the Society for Health and Human Values, and is on boards of other national organizations. He has also been author and host of two television series on ethical issues. He was elected first president of the Tennessee Center for Human Values and Health Sciences in 1975, and first president of the Chicago Clincial Ethics Programs, an association of ethicists and physicians with the Chicago Medical Society, in 1989. He also served as Director of the International Bioethics Institute for several years, and co-founded its successor, the International Bioethics Consortium that holds international bioethics retreats and meetings. He is a board member of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health and co-chairs an annual international pre-conference on philosophical issues. He has published 30 books and over 325 articles and chapters. Translations of his work have appeared in Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Chinese, Japanese, Danish, Korean, Latvian, French, and Greek. Current projects include volumes on variables of moral capacity (Kluwer), 2nd edition of A Philosophical Basis of Medical Practice (Oxford), a revised edition of Theory and Practice in Medical Ethics, a book on International human rights in health care, another on the foundations of health care, a book on managed care for patients, and a textbook on philosphy of medicine. He continues to work on a book ms. called ‘Frozen Sections: Ethical Duties to Different Forms of Human Life.’ His hobbies are classical music, surround sound, traveling, reading, and woodworking. Visitation at the Ahlgrim Funeral Home, 567 S. Spring Rd., Elmhurst from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Prayers Monday, April 29, 9 a.m. to Visitation Church. Mass at 9:30 a.m. Interment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be appreciated for a lecture series that will be established in his memory at Loyola University. Info, 630-834-3515 or www.ahlgrim.com
