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- The Tonawanda News
WESTMORELAND, NH — Dr. Sy died at his home February 17, 2011, after a long illness.
Walter P. Sy, M.D. was born January 21, 1937 in North Tonawanda, NY, in the area of western New York state settled by his early 19th century German ancestors. He was the son of Arthur Herman Sy and Anabell Pless Sy.
He attended North Tonawanda High School, the University of Rochester and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, from which he graduated in 1962. While in medical school he and a classmate co-authored and published a research paper which won first place in the National Medical Student Research Awards.
He married his college sweetheart, Jeanie Gray Maddox on December 17, 1960, a marriage "that made all the difference in my life”.
Dr. Sy served his internship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH, and then completed his specialty training at Yale/New Haven Medical Center in New Haven, CT.
From 1965 to 1967, Lieutenant Commander Sy served as the Chief of Anesthesiology at the United States Naval Hospital #1 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in NH.
Upon his discharge from the Navy, he was appointed as a staff anesthesiologist at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, NH, as well as Instructor in Surgery (Anesthesiology) at the Dartmouth Medical Center.
In 1969, he was made Director of Residency Training in Anesthesiology at The Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and received an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery (Anesthesiology).
In 1972, he was elected as an examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology, a position he held for 15 years.
In 1979, Dr. Sy assumed the chairmanship of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, NH, now called the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center/Keene. There he was the Founder and Director of the Pain Treatment Clinic as part of the Department of Anesthesiology.
In 1985, he was elected one of the founding members of The New England Pain Association.
He retired in 1998. He and Jeanie had lived a "country life" of small scale farming almost all their married life. Among Dr. Sy's various interests were wood working, running, biking, traveling with Jeanie, gardening, genealogy, reading and history. He was an amateur Civil War historian and re-enactor. He gave many Civil War presentations to the area schools, historical societies and at Memorial Day events, as Captain of the 6th N.H. Volunteer Infantry Historical Association.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Jeanie and much loved children and their families of whom he was so proud: Mrs. Jennifer Sy Heger, wife of Christopher Heger and mother of Connor and Duncan Heger; Mr. Christian Arthur Sy, husband of Tamara Campbell Sy, father of Colton and Campbell Sy; Mrs. Alice Sy Dolbow, wife of John Dolbow and mother of Maddox and Zoe Dolbow. Also surviving is his "best friend", Robert Pless Sy, Walter's loved brother, his wife Barbara and their children.
At Walter's request, the family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be donated to the "Walter P. Sy, M.D. Scholarship” of Greater Buffalo, 712 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14202. Walter created this scholarship in 2007 to show his appreciation for all his home town and his high school gave him. This scholarship is given yearly to an outstanding senior student/athlete at North Tonawanda High School. Services will be held at the United Church of Christ on Main Street in Keene, NH on Friday, February 25th at 2:00 PM.
Visit www.tonawanda-news.com/obituaries for online guest register.
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1937 - 2011 (74 years)