Dr. Lois Pounds Oliver

Dr. Lois Pounds Oliver died at age 93 on August 8th in Durham, NC. Born in Pittsburgh to parents Frank and Helen Pounds, she began a life of learning and curiosity that served to enrich not only her life, but that of her family and friends. She held a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Nursing and at age 28 entered the University of Pittsburgh Medical school to earn her MD. Life presents choices. Each choice she made took her into new fields, new cities, new jobs and new experiences. Internship in Philadelphia Children’s, Residency in Boston Children’s and finally a hospital and medical school career in Durham and Pittsburgh. She went to Duke in 1969 as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. Lois was asked to serve on many committees, where she had the opportunity to have input at the time that Duke Medical School was widening it’s influence largely due to affirmative action. In 1974, Lois was recruited by Dr. Thomas K Oliver, Medical Director of Children’s Hospital to return to Pittsburgh as Associate Director of Pediatrics and Ambulatory Care. Later she became Associate Dean for Admissions and for Student Affairs. This proved to be a fortuitous move - see below. In 1987 Lois returned to Duke in the role of Associate Dean for Medical Education and Medical School Admissions. These titles do not convey the extent of Lois’s influence at Duke. She was proactive in expanding and changing some ways of delivering care. She actively recruited women to apply for med school, and counseled many classes of students - and kept track of them as they moved forward.

This is not the whole picture of Lois. She grew up during World War II in suburban Pittsburgh sharing the early years with older brother Bill and younger sister Nancy. A childhood sledding accident which hospitalized her, led her to admire nurses and was determined to be one. At the insistence of her parents, she reluctantly took the 5 year program with a BS degree. At the University of Pittsburgh. She never looked back and was in school for the next decade. She continued to live at home. Her parents, who were high school teachers. said they were privileged to go to medical school at their dining room table. After working as a nurse for 8+ years, she found promotion led to administrative jobs and away from patient care. When she was denied a leave of absence, she resigned. She decided to visit sister Nancy, who was teaching school in Syria. Nancy was now married with a baby, and Lois visited Aleppo for 5 months getting first-hand practice as a pediatrician. She developed a lifelong interest in the Middle East. It was a daring step for a woman in the 50’s to apply to Medical School but she chose to do it. During her residency in Boston, she lived for a few years with her brother Bill and his wife Helen, and their two children Tom and Julia. It was a plus for everyone. In 1974 she married Tim Oliver. That began many adventures she had never experienced before. She reluctantly learned to camp. She was a good fisherwoman. She learned tennis! She got to be a stepmother to Tom and Katherine and even to be a grandmother and great grandmother to Emma, Thomas and Kelsey and little Theo. The family warmly welcomed Lois and truly took her to heart, and she them.

After Tim’s death in 2003, Lois continued her association with Duke Medical School. She kept up with everyone she ever met. She was a dedicated volunteer - especially at Duke Gardens where she served on the Board in addition to weeding, propagation and guiding tours. For many years, she headed the volunteer docents at Duke Chapel and gave many tours to visitor, which included the Duke women’s basketball. She researched Duke archives about the design, construction and history of the Chapel, and then taught an Osher class about it. Lois and Tim were founding members of The Congregation at Duke Chapel. She served a term as President of The Forest at Duke. For leisure she perfected needlepoint skills and raced through crossword puzzles. She did not know that it was possible to say “no” when asked to take on a task.

She is survived by her Oliver family: son Tom and Becky, daughter Katherine, grandchildren Emma, Kelsey and Robert, Thomas and Nhat, and great grandson Theo. Also by sister Nancy, sister in law Helen, nephew Tom and Leigh, grandnephews Finn and William, niece Julia and Fred, grandnieces Bailey and Dana, grandnephews Ryan and Connor, niece Amy and Paul, grandnephew Jarrett, grandniece Kendall and nephew Ted.

The family wishes to thank Amy, Kelsey and Tom P. for making Power of Attorney decisions. We thank The Forest at Duke for its many services in the care of Lois. We thank Sarah Upchurch and Transitions Lifecare Hospice for compassionate care. Special thanks to the faithful visitors to her while she was in Assisted Living, and especially to Caroline Ryskiewich, the most faithful visitor and comforter of all. Funeral arrangements are being made by Hall-Wynne of Durham. A memorial service is being planned at Duke Chapel in the fall.