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Dr. Robert Henry Tully, III, beloved pediatrician, teacher and father, died June 5, 2004, at age 87. Affectionately called by his children "Old Save-A-Life," Bob Tully was born on October 31, 1916, the eldest of three children in a first generation Irish-German family living in the industrial city of Pittsburgh. Education being one of the few roads out of the steel mills where his father and grandfather worked, Bob scaled the scholastic structure, leap-frogging two grades and entering the U of Pittsburgh at sixteen. Dubbed "Laughing Boy" by his peers for his high spirits and continual laughter, he secured a BS in chemistry and a place in the U of Pittsburgh scholastic hall of fame. He then completed an MS in biochemistry at the U of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, shortly thereafter relocating to the U of Wisconsin in Madison to work on a PhD in physiology. A wartime shortage placed him, at 23, in charge of the medical school's hospital laboratories, a vantage point from which chance conversations with the participating doctors kindled an interest in what was to become his all-consuming life's work, medicine. It was in Madison that Bob met and wed Mary Ann Pope, in secret, because at that time nursing students were not allowed to be married. Bob graduated from the U of Rochester medical school in 1948. He detoured to Smith, Kline, and French pharmaceuticals in time to work on development of the first time-released medication Teldrin, before serving in the Army Medical Corps at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1957, Bob moved his family to Albuquerque, briefly joined the Lovelace Clinic and then, with the help of Mary Ann, established himself as a sole practitioner. Wholly committed to his burgeoning number of patients, the improvement of hospital practice (he was the first Chief of Pediatrics at what has become UNM Children's Hospital), and the teaching of young medical personnel, his diversions were few. Relaxation was principally in the form of concertizing on his baby grand late at night after finishing rounds at the hospital. Time with his six children was usually afforded by their companionship on house calls and hospital rounds and their helping out in the office. Bob closed his private practice in 1981. He subsequently increased his clinical teaching at UNM School of Medicine, leading to employment as a full Professor of Pediatrics, an appointment of which he was quietly but immensely proud. He funded development of a library and conference room within Children's Hospital for the benefit of pediatric residents and, in 1995, capping a career of lifelong devotion to his art, Bob received the first annual New Mexico Pediatric Society Recognition Award. Preceded in death by his wife, Mary Ann, Dr. Tully is survived by his six children and their families, Rob Tully and his daughter, Merritt, Rush Tully and Maria Dillon, their children Kristel, Michael and Willy, Nat Tully and Leah Higgins, Joseph Tully, his daughters, Leah and Kendra, Marit Tully and Andy Thomas, Brooke Tully and Tom Bird, and their son Aaron; he is also survived by his sister and her husband, Hulda and Keith Martin, of Kansas; brother-in-law and wife, Paul and Phyllis Pope of Wisconsin; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, George. Visitation will be held Friday, June 11, 2004 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Strong-Thorne Mortuary, 1100 Coal Ave SE, in Albuquerque. Dr. Tully will be buried privately at Fairview Memorial Park. A Memorial Celebration to which all friends, acquaintances, colleagues, students and former patients are heartily invited will be held on Saturday, June 19, 2004 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please call 235-1567 for the address. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Robert Tully, M.D., be made to UNM Children's Hospital, Development Office, 700 Lomas NE, 2 Woodward Ctr, Ste 100, ABQ, 87102, an institution particularly close to Dr. Tully's heart.
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