Everall, Dr. George L. 1873-1909

EVERALL, FAIRCHILD

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 6/12/2010 at 06:35:53

In Memoriam—Dr. George Lone Everall

Since our last annual meeting we have suffered the loss of one of our number. Even at the time of this meeting, in which he took part, he was doomed soon to die and was well aware of the fact; though no one would have known it from his demeanor. His was the spirit and bravery of the soldier, who goes to his death in a forlorn hope. His that rare courage which cannot only look the grim enemy in the face without flinching, but can at the same time smile upon his friends, and hide his pain and sorrow within the confines of his own breast.

Doctor George Lone Everall was born in Farmersburg township, Clayton county, Iowa, June 10, 1873, and died at the home of his father in Farmersburg, Iowa, December 10, 1909.

Doctor Everall was graduated from the State University of Iowa in 1896, and at the time of his death was oculist and aurist to the Chicago and Northwestern R. R. at Clinton, where he was established as a practitioner in the special lines of our section.

Dr. Fairchild, with whom he was associated, has kindly responded to a request to give us some account of the life of our late colleague. What he writes is as follows:

"Dr. Geo. L. Everall entered my office in 1902 to engage as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He had previously been engaged in general country practice but the hardships incident to such practice were beyond his strength and endurance and he was obliged to give it up and take some post-graduate study preparatory to entering upon this special branch of medicine. A year or two after entering my office, or in about 1904, he took up the work of anesthetist and was employed by our office from that time up to the time of his death in that special capacity. Dr. Everall acquired great skill in giving anesthetics and during this period of six or seven years, he performed a little more than three thousand anesthesias. His skill was so great in this direction that no one could feel the least degree of anxiety in relation to the anesthetic and would be able to go on with the operative undertaking with full confidence that the anesthesia would be continued to the end with complete safety.

"Dr. Everall had the rare faculty of inspiring his patients with entire confidence in his skill, honesty and fairness, and many people came to him because of this fact. Probably no one in the practice of medicine in Clinton had a closer following of sincere friends than Dr. Everall. He was clean in his professional methods, clean morally and clean in person, just the type of man that right feeling people would desire to employ as their medical adviser.

"Dr. Everall's health was not robust and even in the practice of his specialty, he often became physically exhausted before the close of his office hours. The Doctor was not inclined to speak of his physical ailments and no one would know of his feelings except by the appearance of weariness in his movements about the office. In December, 1908, he developed a growth in the right scapular region. When it was removed, it manifested the clinical appearance of a sarcoma. Two or three months later, a growth was found in the axilla which on removal proved to be of the same nature as that removed at the first operation. In June following, another growth in the neighborhood of the first was removed and found to be like the others, a round celled sarcoma, and soon after this, a considerable number of growths of similar character were found in various parts of the body. The general dissemination of the disease indicated that if any benefit was tobe derived from treatment, it must be derived from the Coley method. To get the best effects of such serum treatment, the Doctor went directly to New York and placed himself under Dr. Coley's treatment. No benefit was derived from this and he returned to his home in Farmersburg, Iowa. The disease gradually extended involving more and more until at last on December 10, 1909, he died exhausted.

"Everyone must realize the feelings of a man familiar with the nature of such growths watching the progress from day to day and measuring its encroachment knowing of the inevitable results. Dr. Everall bore this patiently. During the later months of his life, his sufferings were very severe."

~Iowa Medical Journal and the Journal of the Iowa State Medical Society, Vol 17, No 8; February, 1911; page 367