In Memoriam
1980 - 1989
Scroll down to see obituaries, which appear in order of DMS class year. To go directly to any individual obituary, click on the name here, listed in alphabetical order.
James C. Alex, ‘89
Leanne Eberly Jordan, '89
Frederick Theodore “Ted” LaRochelle, ‘86
Frederick Theodore “Ted” LaRochelle ‘86
Frederick “Ted” LaRochelle, Jr., died suddenly at home after a brief illness, on September 20, 2012. He was 65.
LaRochelle grew up in Springfield, Mass., and attended West Point from 1964 to 1966. He then studied at the University of Massachusetts and later graduated from American International College in Springfield, Mass. He earned a PhD in physiology from Florida State University in 1975 and came to Dartmouth Medical School the following year to work with Heinz Valton and other members of the physiology department. In 1981, he went to work for NASA in Houston, Tex., researching the physiology of space flight. He eventually returned to Dartmouth to earn his medical degree in 1986 and then trained for a year in surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He completed the rest of his training in the Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency.
While still a resident, he joined the United States Air Force. In 1990, he became director of the Space Biomedical Research Institute at the NASA-Johnson Space Center, where he supervised MDs and PhDs who studied ways to maintain human health during space flight. He also cared for thousands of reservists at the Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts during the Persian Gulf War.
Later, LaRochelle worked in emergency medicine at Togus VA Hospital and Maine General Medical Center, both located in Augusta, Maine. He also practiced family medicine in Winthrop, Maine; Rochester, N.H.; and Nantucket, Mass.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Mary; his three children, Hilary, Kathryn, and Adrian; and three grandchildren, as well as two brothers and three sisters.
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James C. Alex ‘89
James Alex, an otolaryngologist and plastic surgeon, died of injuries from a motorcycle accident on May 29, 2012, at the age of 50.
A specialist in facial cosmetic and plastic surgery, Dr. Alex earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1985 and his MD from Dartmouth Medical School in 1989. He did a surgical internship at University Hospital SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse and then a residency in otolaryngology at the University of Vermont-affiliated hospital Fletcher Allen from 1990 to 1996. After residency, he completed a one-year fellowship in facial plastic surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Dr. Alex served on the faculty of Yale School of Medicine as an assistant professor in otolaryngology and director of facial and cosmetic surgery until 2003. He was an associate professor in otolaryngology at Boston University School of Medicine until 2007. Most recently, he owned and practiced at the Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery, in Weston, Mass.
He is survived by his mother, Virginia; his father, Christos; his brother, George; and two nieces.
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Leanne Eberly Jordan
DMS '89
Leanne Eberly Jordan, an obstetrician/gynecologist, died on March 13, 2010, after a seven-year battle with breast cancer. She was 49.
She graduated from Dartmouth College in 1993 and then enrolled in the Dartmouth-Brown program, spending two years at DMS and earning her MD degree at Brown University in 1989. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, where she was chief resident. Following her residency, she served in the U.S. Air Force from 1994 to 1998 and was stationed in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Mississippi.
In 1998, Dr. Jordan and her family moved back to Colorado, where she joined Four Corners OB-GYN in Durango as a staff physician. In addition to her practice there, she had served as chair of the department of surgery at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, was medical director of Mercy’s integrative care services, and was a clinical instructor for medical students at the University of Colorado. She was also the honorary spokeswoman for the Mercy Regional Breast Care Center, which opened in 2009, spending time with patients as an advocate, mentor, and friend.
Dr. Jordan is survived by her husband of 18 years, Harald, her daughter Emily, her son Kelsey, her parents Roger and Sandra Eberly, her sister Lori, and brother Rex.
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