David Thomas Rowlands Jr.

Dr. Rowlands was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and was raised outside of Philadelphia in Lansdowne, PA. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and after three years of undergraduate studies was admitted into Penn’s School of Medicine. During his undergraduate years at Penn, Dave enjoyed playing intercollegiate soccer. Following medical school, his medical residency in Pathology led him to Cincinnati, Ohio where he met and married his wife of 58 years, Gwendolyn York. Upon completion of his residency, he served in the Navy and was stationed in Key West, Florida. During this time, he was appointed as the Chief Casualty Officer for the Bay of Pigs. Following his time in the Navy, he and his wife moved to Denver, Colorado. It was there that Dave worked on a team for the transplant of livers in humans. In 1964, they headed cross country to New York City where Dave worked at Rockefeller University. While on staff, he was the number two in the laboratory group for the Nobel Prize winner in Medicine research team. In the late 1960’s, Dave was an Associate Professor at Duke University’s School of Medicine before returning to his roots and working as a professor and ultimately the Chairman of the Department of Pathology at his alma mater, The University of Pennsylvania. In the early 1980’s, he accepted the Chairmanship of Pathology at the University of South Florida and has resided in Tampa since that time. In 1991, he retired from USF and intended to spend his days on the golf course or sailing. While a great plan, he found himself missing teaching and joined the staff at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. During his years teaching in the Caribbean, he had the unique opportunity of working on numerous islands. This was primarily the result of a volcano erupting on the island of Montserrat, where the university was originally located, forcing an evacuation and eventual relocation to the island of St. Maarten. While teaching in the islands, Dave coupled two favorite pastimes, sailing and golfing, and authored a book entitled Golf Courses of the Caribbean. Dr. Rowlands is survived by his loving wife of 58 years ,Gwendolyn York Rowlands, two daughters and four grandchildren. He was a devoted grandfather and enjoys spending time with his grandchildren. He also enjoys golf, chess, model trains, and sports (in particular, soccer). Burial at Florida National Cemetery with Military Honors will take place at a later date.