A memorial service will be held for Dr. Raymond S. Duff, professor emeritus of pediatrics, on Friday, July 26, at 4 p.m. in the historical library of the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, 333 Cedar St.
Dr. Duff died June 21 at his home in Woodbridge after a long illness. He was 72 years old.
Well known in the fields of pediatric care and medical sociology, Dr. Duff is perhaps most often cited for his seminal 1968 text "Sickness and Society," an examination of hospital care and its impact on patients and their families, which he coauthored with August B. Hollingshead. Later in his career Dr. Duff extended this examination of doctors and patients to the New Haven area in the 1990 work "Assessing Pediatric Practice -- A Critical Study" edited by C.D. Cook .
Dr. Duff often spoke out about controversial medical issues. In a 1973 New England Journal of Medicine NEJM article titled "Moral and Ethical Dilemmas in the Special Care Nursery," Dr. Duff and coauthor Alex Campbell raised moral and other questions about the medical care provided to severely handicapped newborns, arguing in favor of minimal care. They further explored the issue in the article "On Deciding the Care of Severely Handicapped or Dying Persons with Particular Reference to Infants," published in a 1976 issue of the journal Pediatrics. Almost two decades after the NEJM article first appeared, one colleague writing for the periodical YearOne described its impact: "The article in NEJM disclosed to the general public the realities of decision-making regarding handicapped children. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of these revelations."
"Dr. Duff will be remembered for his willingness to examine intellectually and emotionally challenging topics," says Dr. John Leventhal, professor of pediatrics. "He believed in patients and families and wanted to make certain that they could contribute to the medical decision-making and that their thoughts and feelings were heard. His views, his questioning, and especially his insights into the physician-patient relationship will be sorely missed, especially at this time when many have forgotten what it means to be a physician."
Raymond Stanley Duff was born in Hodgdon, Maine, Nov. 2, 1923. He served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II. After receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Maine in 1948, he earned his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine in 1952. He spent his pediatric internship and residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital 1952-55, and in 1959 received a master's degree in public health from Yale.
Dr. Duff joined Yale's faculty in 1956 as an instructor in the departments of pediatrics and public health; he began teaching courses in the department of sociology in 1959. He was named assistant professor of pediatrics and sociology in 1962 and associate professor of pediatrics in 1967. In 1978 he was appointed professor of pediatrics.
Dr. Duff is survived by his wife, G.J. London Duff; three daughters, Jane Duff Harris of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Carole Duff of Plano, Texas, and Lori Duff Weddell of Wilmington, Delaware; six brothers; three sisters; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the department of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06520.