A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Father Establishes Scholarship

A. Estin Comarr, MD and Ruth Comarr

Cynthia Berchan is the daughter of the late A. Estin Comarr, MD and Ruth Comarr.  Dr. Comarr was a member of the Chicago Medical School Class of 1940 and the first recipient of the CMS Alumnus of the Year award in 1963.  To recognize the work of her father and the support of his family, Ms. Berchan has established The A. Estin Comarr, MD ’40 and Family Memorial Endowed Scholarship through a bequest commitment.  This scholarship will create a perpetual award that will support incoming medical and third-year medical students at CMS.

Dr. Comarr was an author, educator and surgeon specializing in urology.  Dr. Comarr joined the Army and served as a surgeon and Major during World War II.  Following the war, he settled in Southern California, serving as Chief of Urology at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital and clinical faculty at UCLA, USC and Loma Linda University.  Shaped by his military service, Dr. Comarr became a specialist in medical treatment of spinal cord injury.  His work led to the formation of paraplegia centers which provided specialty care for veterans disabled by spinal injuries during the war.

Dr. Comarr believed, “Whatever we get comes with the help of others and we build on this.”  He said, “For me, it was the Chicago Medical School that gave me a medical degree so that I had the most important building stone.” This scholarship pays tribute to his gratitude to CMS and will enable future students to achieve their dreams of completing their medical education.