Louise Schnaufer, Founding Member of the Foundation, Remembered
Dr. Louise Schnaufer passed away on October 14, 2011 at her home, Cathedral Village, in Philadelphia.
She was born in Towson, Maryland on June 12, 1925. She lived above her family’s general store, F. W. Schnaufer and Son, established by her paternal grandfather in the late 1800s, until the death of her parents in 1937. At this time she moved to the home of her uncle, J. Rollin Otto, where she resided until she graduated from Towson High School in 1942. She was a devoted “daughter” and family member throughout her life. She attended Holton Arms School and Junior College in Washington, DC and then continued her education at Wellesley College, graduating in 1947 with a degree in Zoology.
She went on to The Woman’s Medical College of Philadelphia graduating in 1951. She became the first female Chief Surgical Resident at the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She continued her post-graduate training in pediatric surgery at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. She returned to Baltimore and established the city’s first pediatric surgical service, working at Union Memorial Hospital and at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
After several years, she returned to Philadelphia and joined practices with C. Everett Koop at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she remained until her retirement in 2002 at the age of 77. She was a pioneer in the separation of conjoined twins and is responsible for the construction of the first gortex diaphragm in the treatment of hernias. She was a beloved teacher and mentor for her many years at Children’s; she was called Aunt Louise by patients and house staff and the end of the day brought many a tired and overwhelmed student into her office for reassuring conversation and for peanuts from her desk drawer.
In her own words, “I’m not a researcher. I’m a clinician. I take care of kids.” During her time at the Children’s Hospital she traveled extensively to China, India, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Russia, and Africa teaching her surgical techniques and donating her surgical expertise. She was an avid traveler for pleasure as well, seeing much of the world. Dr. Louise loved cats and plants and her homes were always filled with both. She loved to do yoga, read, sail and was always ready for any adventure. Her passion for and talent in painting and photography blossomed in her retirement.