In Memoriam: ’45 Raymond Grandon

Raymond Grandon, 99, of New Cumberland, Pa., died December 9, 2018. After graduating from Jefferson Medical College, he interned at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pa., served as captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and completed a residency in internal medicine at Harrisburg Hospital—where he was instrumental in getting the program accredited. He opened a private internal medicine practice in Harrisburg in 1950, where he worked until he retired in 2015; at the time, at 96 years old, he was one of the oldest working doctors in the United States.

A pioneer in cardiac rehabilitation, Raymond was known for his many achievements, among them helping found the first successful cardiopulmonary rehabilitation center in the nation and setting the standard of exercise therapy rather than bed rest following a cardiac arrest. He also was an early advocate for pacemaker implantation, which he brought to Harrisburg—making it the second place in the United States to offer it—and he organized the country’s first televised heart operation in the 1950s, which was filmed at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia and broadcast to WTPA in Harrisburg. Throughout his long career, Raymond served in leadership positions at many local and national professional medical organizations, including the American College of Physicians and the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association, and he received many awards.

A longtime teacher and supporter of medical education and continuing education, Raymond established with his wife the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris Grandon Professorship of Health Policy at Jefferson, which is currently held by David Nash, MD, founding dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health.

Ray is survived by his wife, Doris; children, Raymond, Suzanne, and David; grandson, Matthew; and numerous nieces and nephews.