A “country doctor” gives back to Yale by aiding students
When the late John E. Borowy ’50 M.D. enrolled in the School of Medicine in 1946, having served as a captain in the Army Air Corps, he had few financial resources to fall back on. According to Borowy’s nephew, Louis “Skip” DeBeradinis, his uncle’s working-class parents were elderly and infirm, and Borowy relied on the GI Bill and income from odd jobs to make his way through medical school.
Related links
Borowy, for forty-five years a revered “country doctor” in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut, recalled his days as a member of the School of Medicine’s Class of 1950 with affection and gratitude, says DeBeradinis. Borowy, who died in February 2006, had no children. He left virtually his entire estate to the School to endow a $2.4 million scholarship fund, a legacy that will benefit deserving medical students for years to come.
“I am so grateful to John Borowy and his nephew, Louis DeBeradinis,” says Robert J. Alpern, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “Dr. Borowy’s appreciation for his Yale education and the commitment of his estate to scholarships for our students was an unusually thoughtful way for him to say ‘thanks.’ Over many years it will help many students acquire a Yale medical education.”
John E. Borowy ’50 M.D.
“Everyone knew him as a simple and unpretentious but caring, experienced, qualified physician who was respected by his patients,” says Frank R. Coughlin, Jr. ’52 M.D. who frequently worked with Borowy in his chest surgery practice in Stamford. “The generosity of this gift was a surprise and a very pleasant one.”
DeBeradinis says that his uncle’s belief in the importance of good doctoring only grew when his own health began to fail several years ago and he found himself on the other end of the stethoscope.
Of Borowy’s bequest, DeBeradinis says that it was his uncle’s belief that students with the potential to become skilled and caring doctors should never be held back by financial need. “This was his way of giving back to the community.”
(Excerpted from the March/April 2007 issue of Medicine@Yale)
