Central African Republic Medical Officer Dr. Eugene Sillman dies in Buffalo
DR. EUGENE SILLMAN, PHYSICIAN, PROFESSOR, VOLUNTEER ; OCTOBER 15, 1925 -- JULY 4, 2004
Jul 6, 2004
Buffalo News
Dr. Eugene Sillman, a retired doctor, medical professor and volunteer, died Sunday in Brothers of Mercy Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Clarence, after a long illness. He was 78.
A Williamsville resident since 1982, Dr. Sillman was born in Brooklyn and received his medical degree at Columbia University in 1948.
During his medical internships, he served in the Army National Guard Medical Corps as a first lieutenant for one year before a two- year term of active duty in Munich, Germany, until 1952. He achieved the rank of colonel during 21 years of service in the Connecticut National Guard, including one as surgeon general of the state. He retired from the Army in 1973.
For 14 years, Dr. Sillman practiced internal medicine in Meriden, Conn., before becoming a staff physician at Gaylord Hospital and Rehab Center in Wallingford, Conn., for three years. During that time, he also served as director of emergency services at Meriden- Wallingford Hospital and medical director of Westfield Nursing Homes until 1980. In 1971, he began a private internal medicine practice in Southington, Conn., until 1980, when he joined the Peace Corps in Central Africa as a medical officer for one year.
He returned to New York in 1982 and served as medical director for the Erie County Health Department for six years until he became director of preventive health services for two more. He served as director of adult medical services at East Side Health Center in Buffalo for a year and was an examining physician for the State Workers' Compensation board in Buffalo. He retired in the late 1995 after serving on the board of directors of the Peace Corps.
Dr. Sillman was also active in the academic world. He was a medical instructor at Yale University School of Medicine between 1950 and 1964 and taught one year as an assistant professor of geographic medicine and tropical diseases at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1986.
A member of the National Council of Internation Health, Dr. Sillman also was an associate fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. He was a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York, as well as of Erie County. He volunteered as chairman, president and on the board of directors of the Connecticut Heart Association for 16 years. He served as president of the Central Connecticut TB and Lung Association for two years. He also was a member of the American Lung Association of Western New York and on the New York State Task Force on Physically Handicapped Children's Program Revision.
Dr. Sillman spoke French, German and Spanish. After his retirement, he enjoyed traveling and spending time with his children.
Survivors include his wife of 13 years, the former Joan Columbo; three daughters, Emily Giles of Suffern, Jane of Seattle and Catherine Lynch of LaHonda, Calif.; a son, Richard of Los Altos, Calif.; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Thursday in Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, 695 Elmwood Ave. Private burial will be in Forest Lawn.
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