Eckstein, Dr. John William

Dr. John William Eckstein, 87, of Iowa City, died Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, at Lantern Park in Coralville. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 3000 12th Ave., Coralville. Burial, with military honors, will be at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Iowa City. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service in Iowa City, where a vigil service will be held at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Eckstein was born Nov. 23, 1923, in Central City, Iowa, the only child of Dr. John and Alice (Ellsworth) Eckstein. He graduated from Western Illinois Military Academy in Alton, Ill., and enrolled at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. He entered the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1946 and graduated in 1950. He completed postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Boston.

During World War II, Dr. Eckstein served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a B-24 navigator in the 455th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force in Italy. He flew combat missions in the Balkans, Rhineland, Po Valley and North Apennines and Polesti Campaigns. His military service at Letterman Hospital was during the Korean War.

Dr. Eckstein joined the faculty of the University of Iowa in 1953. He moved through the academic continuum becoming professor of Internal Medicine in 1969 and served in this position from 1970 until 1991. In 1993, by order of the Board of Regents, he became Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine and Dean Emeritus of the College of Medicine. He then joined the staff of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City.

He served on many committees of the National Institutes of Health, including the Advisory Committee to the Director, the Trustees Visiting Committee of the University of Rochester (NY) School of Medicine and Dentistry, the Indiana University School of Medicine and a number of task forces and councils in the American Medical Association, the Association of Academic Health Centers and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Dr. Eckstein served as president of the American Heart Association and the American Federation for Clinical Research Midwestern Section. He was also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American College of Physicians.

Many honors came to him, including the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in the Medical Sciences, the Established Investigatorship of the American Heart Association, the Research Career Award of the National Heart Institute, the Gold Heart Award of the American Heart Association, the Distinguished Service Award of the American Medical Association, Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Award for Distinguished Service and Achievement. In addition, he was named to the Alpha Omega Alpha Roster of Leaders in American Medicine. In his honor, the Human Biology Building was renamed the Eckstein Building.

The Department of Veterans Affairs named him a Distinguished Physician. Indiana University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Science degree. His alma mater, Loras College, honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement and Contributions to Loras.

He was author and co-author of numerous articles in the field of cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology and also in the field of medical education.

Surviving are his wife, Imogene (Jean) of Iowa City; one daughter, Dr. Margaret Ann Eckstein and her husband, Dr. Charles Wellman, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio; four sons, John A. and his wife, Ledy Garcia, of Denver, Colo., Dr. Charles and his wife, Carolyn, of Nashville, Tenn., Thomas and his wife, Dr. Dionne Skeete, of Coralville, and Steven and his wife, Susan, of Inverness, Ill.

He loved and was proud of his 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His grandchildren include Elizabeth Eckstein and her husband, Dr. Travis Clifton, of San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Kathryn Cody Eckstein and her husband, Jeff Jalovec, of Boston, Mass., Andrew and his wife, Laura Eckstein, of Chicago, Cody Eckstein of New York City, N.Y., Maria Alexander Eckstein of Washington, D.C., Rebecca Wellman of Chicago, Matthew Wellman of Charlotte, N.C., Daniel Wellman of New York City, N.Y., Brice and brother, Pierce Eckstein, of Inverness, Ill., and Alana and brother, Miles Cody Eckstein, of Coralville. Great-grandchildren include Henry O'Brien Clifton and George Andrew Clifton of San Antonio, Texas and Lewis Jalovec of Nashville, Tenn.

Other survivors include his sister-in - law, Sister M. Damian O'Brien PBVM of Dubuque; brother-in-law, Dr. W. John O'Brien of Manchester; and two nieces, Dr. Mary Chris O'Brien Schnieders and her husband, Gary, and children, Emily, Eric and Christian, of Manchester and Lori Schaul and her husband, Rick, and sons, Jay and Andrew, of Rockford, Ill.

Dr Eckstein was preceded in death by his parents and a sister-in-law, Irene O'Brien.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Lantern Park and the hospice teams for their loving care and friendship through the past months.

Memorial donations may be made to the University of Iowa Foundation for the Carver College of Medicine Medical Student Scholarship Fund, 1 West Park Rd., Iowa City, IA 52242.

Online condolences may be directed to .

Published Sept. 8, 2011, in The Gazette