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BURCHELL -- R. Clay Dr. Clay Burchell passed away August 8, 2007 at his home in Albuquerque, surrounded by his four daughters and loving wife, Sally. Always a maverick and an iconoclast, Clay was traveling with his wife right until his sudden decline. Clay was born in 1928 in Chicago, IL, the only son of Midwest furniture designers and manufacturers, Lorena Dillon Burchell and Robert Lawrence Burchell. His upbringing on a rural farm shaped many of his later views toward authority (trust one's self and one's family first) and life in general. Clay attended Kent School, MIT and the University of Buffalo Medical School, where he met Sally Fowler. Sally and Clay were married in 1953. Betsy, Molly, Marty and Susie joined them in due course. Clay trained and practiced as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist. He began at the University of Illinois, then became Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hartford Hospital, and then at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque. Throughout his career he searched for better ways to practice medicine. He pioneered surgical techniques in operative obstetrics that still save lives today. But he also searched constantly for ways to make women more informed and more comfortable while in the male-dominated hospital setting. Indeed, he was a lifelong proponent of women's rights and dignity, and not just because he was surrounded by women at home. In later years, Clay turned his reformist energies to more broad issues in medicine, in particular, creative ways to deliver better care for less cost. These thoughts are summed up in a volume he co-authored, Reinventing Medical Practice (MGMA 2002). At the time of his death he was still working, in collaboration with his daughter Molly, also a physician, on proposals to improve care and contain medical costs. Clay's friends and family will remember him always as a man who enjoyed wit, repartee, and a gentle tease. Whether talking about Winston Churchill or the best manure to grow roses, whether at work in his shop making copper sculptures or rebidding a slam with his only love Sally at bridge, Clay was never idle and never boring. We will all miss him very much. Following a private memorial service, there will be a celebration of Clay at his home on 8 Tennis Court NW, Albuquerque, NM on Sunday, August 12, 2007 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation 875 Via De La Paz, Suite C, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
        Published on: Sun August 12, 2007