Edward Starr Judd was an American influencial surgeon, whose contributions to the surgical literature were many. He held responsible offices in county, state, and national medical organizations.
Background
Edward was born on July 11, 1878 in Rochester, Minnesota, United States, the son of Edward Francis Judd, a grain dealer, and Emma Jane (Meyers) Judd. His mother was a descendant of Dr. Comfort Starr, who emigrated to Boston in 1635; his father was descended from Thomas Judd, who settled in Cambridge, Massachussets, about 1634.
Education
Judd received his early education in the public schools of Rochester, going from there to the University of Minnesota, where he received the degree of M. D. in 1902. During his student days he haunted the operating rooms of the Mayos and on graduation became first an intern in Saint Mary's Hospital and then assistant to Dr. Charles Mayo.
Career
As a result of his intensive work Judd became a surgical partner in the group and on the retirement of the Dr. Charles Mayo many years later, head of the surgical staff until his death. The activities of Starr Judd were not confined to the clinic, for consistent with the policies of the hospital and with his own wishes he took an increasingly prominent part in medical organizations. As a lecturer he was in great demand and during his time traveled thousands of miles to address medical groups and societies.
During the First World War he was director of a school of instruction at Rochester for officers and enlisted men in the Medical Corps. His standing among his surgical colleagues was attested by his membership in all the important surgical societies at home, and he was also an honorary and corresponding member of several scientific societies abroad.
No year went by but that he presented several papers to his colleagues, reporting what he had learned in his large experience. These covered the whole field of general surgery, but in his earlier years with greater emphasis upon urology, in which specialty he bore the major responsibility for the operative work in the clinic. Later his contributions fell more frequently in the field of abdominal surgery.
At the age of fifty-seven he succumbed to pneumonia, in Chicago, and was buried in Rochester.
Achievements
Views
In his professional field Judd was not nor did he strive to be an originator but rather a surgeon who was thoroughly informed of the work of others and learned in his own experiences. His operative work was dramatic only in its simplicity and in the sound judgment displayed.
Personality
An untiring worker and possessed of unusual surgical skill, he rapidly acquired the confidence of the staff and patients alike.
In person, Edward was modest and kindly, so that to colleagues and patients alike he quickly became a friend to be enjoyed at all times, but, more important, to be depended upon in time of need. By those most competent to judge him as a surgeon and as a man, he was more and more frequently called upon in a professional capacity as time went by.
Connections
His wife, to whom he was married on September 7, 1908, was Helen Berkman, granddaughter of William Worrell Mayo. They had five children: Eleanor, Edward Starr, Jr. , David, Helen Phoebe, and Mary Jane.