Kenneth D. McClatchey, DDS, MD, editor of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, died December 21, 2003, at the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, from kidney failure as a complication of pancreatic cancer. He was 61 years old.
Dr McClatchey was called a “Renaissance Pathologist” because of his broad range of expertise in anatomic and clinical pathology, combined with a passion for teaching, research, and laboratory innovations. He was born in Detroit, Mich, grew up on an island in the Detroit River, and went to high school in Wyandotte, Mich. After graduating in 1960, he entered the University of Michigan's undergraduate school in Ann Arbor and obtained a BS degree in 1964. He continued at the University of Michigan in the School of Dentistry, graduating with a DDS degree in 1968, followed by his admission to the Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan where he obtained a Master's Degree in Oral Pathology in 1971.
The University of California San Francisco was Dr McClatchey's next destination, where he worked for a year in dentistry and oral pathology. Encouraged by his mentors, he applied to medical school at his alma mater, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was admitted in 1972. He completed medical school in 1975 and continued there in a pathology residency program, which he finished in 1978. He joined the faculty at Michigan immediately after his residency as assistant professor in the Departments of Pathology in the Medical School and Oral Pathology in the School of Dentistry.
His boundless intellectual capacity paved the way for a meteoric rise up the academic ranks. In rapid succession he became associate professor of pathology, associate director of clinical laboratories, and was named associate chairman of the Department of Pathology in 1982. He later served as vice chair of the department and director of the clinical laboratories. Dr McClatchey was made a full professor of pathology in 1988. He retired as professor emeritus from the Medical and Dental Schools at the University of Michigan in 1996 when he was hired as chairman of the Pathology Department at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill. Dr McClatchey also was named the Helen M. and Raymond M. Galvin Professor. He served as chairman until 2002 and remained a professor in the Department of Pathology until his death.
His talent and drive allowed him to accomplish a feat few people have, namely becoming simultaneously an internationally recognized anatomic pathologist with expertise in head and neck pathology and a renowned clinical pathologist with an impressive track record in microbiology. Dr McClatchey had a marked inclination for research, receiving numerous grants in surgical pathology and microbiology during his career. He coupled this inclination with a natural writing ability, becoming a reviewer and editorial board member of numerous scientific journals. He was named editor of the Archives in 1998. He edited 2 editions of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, a leading textbook of clinical pathology, and also wrote extensively on pathology of the head and neck, as well as more than 150 articles on various subjects that appeared in prominent scientific journals.
Dr McClatchey had a passion for teaching. Generations of physicians and dentists at Michigan and Loyola were the recipients of his knowledge and experience, which were delivered with the ineffable sense of humor that endeared him to everyone with whom he came into contact. In his position as director of resident education at both Michigan and Loyola, he served as a role model and mentor to countless young pathologists. The creation of the Residents' Page section of the Archives was a concrete example of Dr McClatchey's commitment to encouraging and giving recognition to residents. In turn he was rewarded by his disciples with numerous honors and awards. He treasured most the awards he received as outstanding teacher at Michigan, and teacher of the year at Loyola in 2002.
All of these activities attracted the attention of various professional societies, which eagerly sought his association and his leadership. He was a member of the NCCLS, American Academy of Oral Pathology, American Association of Clinical Chemistry, American Society for Microbiology, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, American Association of Blood Banks, American Tissue Culture Association, Arthur Purdy Stout Society, US-Canadian Academy of Pathology, and the International Academy of Pathology. He most recently served as president of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Dr McClatchey contributed extensively to the College of American Pathologists (CAP). For nearly 30 years he volunteered his services to the CAP, becoming a member of committees too numerous to detail. He also served as a CAP governor from 1986 to 1992. During his career, he also was a consultant to the Veterans Administration, laboratories in Canada, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Canadian Standards Association. Since 2000, his most challenging consulting activity was with the International Atomic Energy Commission Project developing model laboratories in 12 Southeastern Asian countries in need.
These whirlwind lifelong activities were made possible by the love and support of Dr McClatchey's wife, Martha (Marty). She was his constant companion throughout his career, accompanying him on his travels through the United States and abroad. Family was a priority for Dr McClatchey, and together with Marty, they adopted and raised 4 children, Sean, Suki, Suni, and Stephen.
A memorial celebration of his life was held in the Ford Auditorium of the University of Michigan Medical Center on January 17, 2004. A capacity crowd attended and listened with rapt attention as colleagues, friends, and family described his various professional accomplishments and moments from his personal life. The love and respect he inspired was eloquently expressed by all the speakers. The memorial closed with a video showing Dr McClatchey throughout his life, his travels in this country and abroad, and his devotion to his wife and family.
Dr McClatchey made a difference on this earth, both to humanity at large and to pathology in particular. We will always be grateful to him.
