Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy
DOCTOR | PHYSICIAN
BIRTH
TUESDAY | 08 JAN 1918
Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, USA
DEATH
THURSDAY | 16 FEB 2006
Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, USA
Joe McFarland
The Far-Land Legacy
The Publishing Legacy Company
February 16, 2024
BIOGRAPHY
LANCASTER – Born to Arthur Benson and Florence Mary (Boyce) Van Gundy during the tension of World War I, Arthur Boice was born on Tuesday, January 8, 1918, in Lancaster, Ohio. Arthur graduated from The Ohio State University in pre-medicine and received his doctorate from Jefferson Medical College located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his internship and residency in Columbus, Ohio at the Saint Francis Hospital. Dr. Van Gundy not only paved his own way in the medical field, but maintained the passion that fueled him by taking his expertise to the War against the Axis Powers serving as a Captain. After World War II, he served as Chief of Medicine at Fort Monmouth Hospital in New Jersey, and then returned to Lancaster in 1947 to establish his medical practice.
Dr. Van Gundy and his wife, Sarajane “Sally” Miesse, were wed on September 4, 1943, and raised four sons after those years in the war: Arthur Boice II, Gregg, Ralph, and Christopher.
Once Dr. Van Gundy returned to establish his medical practice in Lancaster, his office was ransacked the night of Tuesday, August 2, 1949, along with two other local doctors. The burglars left a cigarette burn on his desk, which burnt records and checks to ash before completely destroying the rest of his desk. Police investigated the scene of all three offices of Dr. W. D. Nusbaum, 408 North Columbus Street; Dr. A. O. Kelch, 410 North Columbus Street; and Dr. A. B. Van Gundy, 216 North Columbus Street. The investigation revealed $40 in change and a gold-capped fountain pen were taken from Dr. Kelch’s office. The burglars also took a wooden chair from Dr. Nusbaum and placed it in Dr. Kelch’s office. Surrounding neighbors reported they heard commotion in the area around 2 a.m. Police also reported that earlier in the week, on Monday, the Presbyterian Church on North Broad Street was broken into where the burglar left a note to the pastor which read, “A DP [displaced person] got my job. We still must eat.” Nothing was taken or reported missing.
Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy, along with two other local physicians, shared in becoming part of the first 2,000 physicians in the United States to become eligible to take the examinations for the American Board of Family Practice. All three passed the exam and remained part of the charter group of Diplomats
established under the American Board of Family Practice listed in the Directory of Medical Specialists. After securing this distinguished status the three are required to maintain their honored position by taking an examination every seven years. It was announced in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette on October 2, 1982 that Dr. Van Gundy had passed the examination again. Now one of 26,000 diplomats of the specialty, it must be undergone every six years.
The article highlighted Dr. Van Gundy, Dr. Essman, and Dr. Merk in the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette and explained that, “In order to be accepted by these examinations, a physician must first qualify under several eligibility plans.” Within these stipulations one must hold current membership in the American Academy of General
Practice with recertification for membership by the Academy for the immediate past three year period as well as have been in family practice for the past three years. These must also include documentation of a minimum of 150 hours of attendance at continuing education courses approved by the American Academy of General Practice. During the Lancaster Business and Professional Women’s Club meeting on Thursday evening, January 4, 1951, Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy led the discussion as the main speaker on cancer. He discussed “Cancer In Women” and showed a film, “Early Diagnosis of Cancer.”
Within the next decade Dr. Van Gundy, current president of the local Heart Council, was among 39 Central Ohioans honored by the Central Ohio Heart Association in Columbus on April 27, 1960.
The doctor was also listed in the thank you section recorded by the Fairfield County 4-H Club for participation in the Junior Livestock Sale at the Fairfield County Fair. He was listed in collaboration with I. J. Collins and Dr. Nusbaum – Grand Champion Steer for $45 – donated to Lancaster Hospital.
Dr. Van Gundy also partook in the contributions made in the landscaping project Fairfield Garden Club initiated for the new Jerry Maher Park. The president, Alva Brucker, stated that $1,474 worth of playground equipment was ordered and they are working at bringing all the pieces together to open the park after Jerry Maher donated the 12-acre tract of land in the previous year, 1953.
Ironically, as he studied and researched cancer during his medical career it eventually claimed his life on Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 1:55 p.m. His remains were interred at Forest Rose Cemetery.
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS
PARENTS
Arthur Benson Van Gundy
Florence May Boyce
ROSS COUNTY – Dr. Van Gundy’s parents, Arthur Benson and Florence May (Boyce), were joined together in marriage on Saturday, November 19, 1910 in Ross County.
SIBLINGS
Richard Curtis Van Gundy
John David Van Gundy
Mary Kathryn Van Gundy
LANCASTER – Arthur and Florence raised four children in Lancaster. Arthur Boice was the youngest.
MARRIAGE
Sarajane Miesse
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Dr. Van Gundy married Sally Miesse on Saturday, September 4, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were married just under one year away from their 50th wedding anniversary.
CHILDREN
Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy II
Dr. Gregory Alan Van Gundy
Ralph Benson Van Gundy
Christopher G. Van Gundy
LANCASTER – Dr Arthur Van Gundy and his wife, Sally, raised four boys as he grew his medical practice impacting the city of Lancaster.
BURIAL
FOREST ROSE CEMETERY – Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy I lies buried next to his wife, sharing the same tombstone, in the Forest Rose Cemetery. The tombstone sits positioned toward the front of the cemetery after making an immediate right, just by the round pull-off.
Check out others who lived in the same time and place, served in the military, buried in the same cemetery,
or select the Fairfield County map to go back to the Legend Page.
THE REFERENCES
R
THE REFERENCES
“3 Local Physicians Pass Family Practice Board Examinations,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Wednesday, March 17, 1971, 2.
“ABFB Recertifies Dr. A. B. Van Gundy,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Saturday, October 2, 1982, 12.
“Desk Burned Up, So Is Lancaster Doctor,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Thursday, August 4, 1949, 1.
“Dr. A. B. Van Gundy Main Speaker When Business And Professional Women Meet,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Friday, January 5, 1951, 3.
“Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy Sr.,” Find A Grave, last modified February 19, 2006, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13391103/arthur-boice-van_gundy.
“Fairfield Garden Club To Aid In Landscaping Of Maher Park,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Wednesday, January 27, 1954, 13.
“The Fairfield County 4-H Clubs & FFA Chapters,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Monday, October 14, 1957, 8.
“Three Physician’s Offices On One Street Broken Into,” Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Tuesday, August 9, 1949, 1.
LEGACY ARTICLE
McFarland, Joe. “Dr. Arthur Boice Van Gundy I.” The Far-Land Legacy, July 21, 2023. [page updated – original page no longer available].
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