Obituary of Joseph G. Fortner MD

February 18, 2007 Joseph G. Fortner, MD, beloved husband of Roberta (nee Olsen), cherished father of Kathleen Fortner, MD and Joseph G. Fortner, Jr., Esq. (spouse Holly Winger Fortner), adoring grandfather of Amanda and Margaret Fortner and Christina and Genevieve Lewis, died on February 18, 2007. A retired cancer surgeon, he was on staff for 45 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering, becoming Chief of the Gastric and Mixed Tumor Service and Director of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation. He performed many of the earliest liver transplants, including the first heterotopic liver transplant, and used this experience to conduct other pioneering work in liver surgery. He also devised a new procedure to resect cancer of the pancreas which increased survival rates. He was a particularly devoted and effective teacher and mentor, eager to transfer to others his knowledge and enthusiasm for new surgical procedures. He lectured worldwide and was also a prolific author, sharing his lifes work and knowledge through over 300 articles published in a wide variety of medical journals, and as editor of a series of 16 books which contained the lectures of the award recipients of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation. Although he never reached his goal of finding the answer to cancer, the advances that he achieved in surgery and research saved and extended lives for many people. Medicine and science may have been a major focus of his life, but he also pursued a number of other interests with great enthusiasm- world travel with his family, music, learning about his faith, fine wine and a perfect meal. At the time of his death, he was finalizing his biography, which reflected his transformation from small boy in rural Indiana to world renowned surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Rest in peace. Services were conducted on Thursday, February 23rd at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York, New York. Funeral Information Graveside services will be conducted at 1:00 pm Saturday, February 24th at Cresthaven Memory Gardens. Friends may call on Saturday from 11:00 am until 12:45 pm at the Day & Carter Mortuary. Donations Information . In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to the Professor George E. Mooreland Endowed Scholarship Fund At Houghton College, c/o Patricia Regan, Advancement Office, Houghton College, One Willard Avenue, Houghton, NY 14744, e-mail patricia.regan@houghton.edu.