Dr. Carl Gunnar Blomquist

Dr. Gunnar Blomquist died peacefully on March 5, 2011 at the Traymore Nursing Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Gunnar Blomquist was born on December 31, 1931 in the town of Gislaved in Smaland, Sweden where he grew up. After receiving his MD at the University of Lund, he moved to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis as a research Fellow, studying cardiovascular epidemiology where he became a pioneer in the field of computer interpretation of the electrocardiogram. He married his wife, Joan, while in Minneapolis and returned to Sweden in 1961 to complete his PhD at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

Having accepted a position at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center he moved to Dallas in 1965, where he remained until retiring in 2003. His professional interests centered on the effects of exercise and deconditioning on the circulation, which led him to a longstanding collaboration with NASA exploring the adaptation of the heart to spaceflight. Dr. Blomquist’s bold and innovative experiments (including placing the first heart catheter in an astronaut) made him the world’s premier expert about the effects of gravity on the cardiovascular system. He was the principal investigator of numerous experiments on the Space Shuttle as well as the Russian Mir Space Station and may have the world’s record for sending three of his trainees into space as NASA Payload Specialists. His brilliant, analytical mind and warm, gentlemanly demeanor endeared him to all who knew him among the community of space faring nations where he is considered one of the giants in the field of space medicine. In recognition of his work, he received the Citation Award of the American College of Sports Medicine in 1987, the Jeffries Medical Research Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1992, and the Louis H. Bauer Founders Award of the Aerospace Medical Association in 1995. At UT Southwestern Medical School he held the Alfred W. Harris, M.D. Professor in Cardiology.

The family wishes to thank Gunnar’s caregivers at the Traymore as well as his long time friends and physicians at U T Medical Center with special thanks to Mrs. Norma Mathews for her thoughtful care of many years.

Gunnar is survived by his wife, Joan, daughter Polly McKeithen and her husband Dan of Dallas, son Peter and his wife Jennifer of Houston, five grandchildren, his sister Margareta and brother Sven, both of Sweden. Services will be on Thursday, March 10 at 4pm in the Saint Michael and All Angels Chapel.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Southwestern Medical Foundation, 3963 Maple Ave., Dallas, Texas 75219.

Arrangements under the direction of Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, Dallas, TX.