Message from the Co-Directors of the UArizona Center on Aging and Director of the Arthritis Center
Dear COM-T Community,
We are sad to share the news that John T. “Jack” Boyer, MD, a University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson founding faculty member, passed away on February 15 at the age of 93.
Dr. Boyer launched three divisions — geriatrics, hematology, and rheumatology — in the Department of Medicine, co-founded the UArizona Center on Aging, and was a founding member of the UArizona Arthritis Center. He was recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in geriatrics and compassionate clinical care, and received the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Geriatrics Society.
Dr. Boyer grew up in Indiana and Ohio, the son of an engineer and a teacher. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1955 and then completed an internal medicine residency in Cleveland, followed by a fellowship in Australia. Dr. Boyer then served for a year as a U.S. Army doctor in South Korea before returning to Cleveland, where he began his career as a hematologist and blood banker.
When Dr. Boyer arrived at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson in 1968, he focused on rheumatology, and in the mid-1980s, he shifted his focus to geriatrics and eventually launched the Division of Geriatrics.
Dr. Boyer retired in 1993, but continued to provide care to aging patients as a volunteer.
Dr. Boyer is survived by his wife and medical school classmate Georgiana Boyer, daughters Leslie Boyer, Diane Boyer and Connie Choza; son Quentin Boyer; grandchildren Maxwell and Ailem Hassen, and Juliana and Carmen Choza. He was preceded in death by his son, Jim Boyer, in 1999. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be directed to the Arizona Center on Aging or to the Encore Network. A memorial service is expected in late March, with details coming soon.
Sincerely,
Mindy J. Fain, MD
Co-Director, UArizona Center on Aging
Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Medicine
Janko Ž. Nikolich, MD, PhD
Co-Director, UArizona Center on Aging
Department Head and Professor, Immunobiology
Director, the Aegis Consortium for Pandemic-Free Future
Kent Kwoh, MD
Director, UArizona Arthritis Center
Chief, Division of Rheumatology