ohn W. Ditzler, M.D., 1976 ASA President, academician and, ultimately, chief medical director of the entire VA medical system, died in La Jolla, California, of cardiac failure on September 30, 2007. His solid understanding of organizational finance became apparent during his service to ASA as Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer from 1965-1973. Those of us who were active with ASA in those days clearly recall his crisp presentations to the Board of Directors and House of Delegates in terms we could interpret. He worked closely with one-time ASA Executive Director William S. Marinko on financial matters and truly became a numbers cruncher. This talent would serve him well in his later career.

John W. Ditzler, M.D. .

John was born in Frederick, Maryland, on August 9, 1919, did his undergraduate work at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and finished medical school at Temple University in 1944. His internship was taken at York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, followed by a tour with the U.S. Army in Panama. He had a short residency with the VA in Pittsburgh and was recalled in the Army during the Korean conflict. During this tour, he was chief of anesthesia at Valley Forge Hospital. He completed a full residency at the University of Pennsylvania with Robert D. Dripps, M.D., and James E. Eckenhoff, M.D., in 1952 and 1953. In 1954, he was appointed chief of anesthesia at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. In 1966 he received an appointment to the Northwestern University faculty in Chicago and ultimately became a full professor and associate dean of the medical school. During this time, he also worked at the VA hospital in Chicago and was chief of staff there from 1972-76. At that point, he really began his administrative career with the VA, receiving an appointment in Washington, D.C. as director of resources for the entire system and responsible for a multibillion-dollar budget. From 1980 to 1984, he moved to San Diego as medical director for the VA hospital, where he distinguished himself in securing the hospital’s spinal cord injury unit. In 1984, he was tapped to come back to Washington to lead the entire VA system, putting him in charge of 172 hospitals, 227 outpatient clinics and more than 200,000 employees. His advocacy for VA patients when working with Congress and the White House was tireless. After leaving this post, he was medical director of the VA hospital in San Francisco.

John served on numerous committees within ASA and, as was mentioned previously, was Assistant Treasurer from 1965-1968 and Treasurer from 1968-1973. He was elected President in 1976, and it was during his term that the Society spent countless hours with legal consultation in making a decision to defend itself against an antitrust suit by the Justice Department over ASA’s publication of the Relative Value Guide. He was also active with the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), serving as its finance chair from 1970-1978. He was a member of the Academy of Anesthesiologists.

What is not so well known about John is that he traveled to India and Iran in the early 1960s as a missionary with the Presbyterian Church. During those visits, he helped to establish hospitals and train physicians.

John is survived by his daughters, Ellen Seaborn of La Jolla, and Lynne Ditzler Curren of Coto de Caza, California, and sons, John Ditzler, Jr., of Salado, Texas, and Dave Dizler of Coto de Caza, California. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.