1937
Fifteen years ago, Allan Coggeshall, DMS '38, wrote to SeyOchsner: "When retirement came, I laid down the sword of Aesculapius with only the regret that I couldn't have started sooner and stayed longer." While his sword may have been laid to rest with his retirement, Coggeshall's contributions to medicine did not end then, nor did they even end upon his death last year. The winter 1998 issue of Dartmouth Medicine tells how Allan arranged to provide for Dartmouth Medical School in his will. As a result DMS received $200,000 in unrestricted funds earlier this year from Coggeshall's estate. Alfred Blum, DHMC's vp for development, said, "Dr. Coggeshall's is an incredibly thoughtful
We remember Allan and his twin brother, Jonathan. Few of us Could tell one from the other. The article tells about an occasion recalled by Cog in 1988, which occurred during his first year in medical school, "I was still a trembling neophyte in awe of the assistant dean, Professor Rolf Syvertsen." One day, he was summoned peremptorily to Sy's office....
"As soon as I walked into the room I knew that this was not going to be a pleasant meeting, for I was met with an enigmatic scowl that made me cast hurriedly through my recent past for any clue to misbehavior or wrong-doing; had I missed a test? had I flunked out so soon? Syversten then accused Cog of having cut his morning class in anatomy. 'I saw you in the post office downtown at 10 o'clock this morning.' Despite Cog's protestations that he was innocent of the crime, and it must have been his twin brother whom Syvertsen had seen, Sy seemed not to believe him, exclaiming, 'I have heard that one before, you know!'
The episode was never mentioned again, but Cog wrote that "it was a seminal moment in the bond that formed between student and teacher. Sy was never ostentatious in his friendship with me, but I always felt a warm glow of pride and respect for him when his eyes would twinkle and a half smile would come as he quietly would ask, 'How is your brother?'"
Carl L. N. Erdman, 1415 Parkside Drive North, Wyomissing, PA 19610;
