David G. Underwood

Dr. David G. Underwood II of Bow died November, 21, 2008 at 6:27pm after a long struggle with cancer. He had been the president of the Concord Hospital Medical Staff and active in community and musical activities since coming to New Hampshire in 1962 after completing his medical training. He was 77 years old. He was born in 1931 in Cohasset, Massachusetts, the son of Rodney Johnson Underwood and Ruth Parker Underwood. Both grandfathers had been New Hampshire physicians; Dr. David G. Underwood for whom he was named, in Bradford; and Dr. John Clement Parker in Farmington. Dr. Underwood grew up in Leominster, MA, where he was valedictorian of his graduating high school class. He graduated with honors from Amherst College as the John Woodruff Simpson Scholar. And at Cornell, his medical school, he was awarded the Alfred Mortitz Prize in recognition of his being number one in his class in Medicine. Internship and residency were served at the New York Hospital, where he was named chief resident. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for study and research in gastroenterology in London, England in 1960. The results of his research in ulcer disease were published in the English medical journal, The Lancet, in 1962. Following this training he moved to New Hampshire to join the medical practice of Dr. J. Dunbar Shields and Dr. Paul J. Lena. He became Board-Certified in Internal Medicine and was elected a fellow in the American College of Physicians. He introduced several medical procedures to the community including: flexible endoscopy, closed liver biopsy, peritoneal dialysis, electrical cardioversion, and internal cardiac pacing. In 1975 when Concord Hospital was first developing a full-time Emergency Department, he switched to Emergency Medicine and was instrumental in developing that department at Concord Hospital. He served as Chief of Emergency Medicine and was Medical Director of the Concord Fire Department in charge of training the first paramedics in the state for their first seven years. Board-Certification in Emergency Medicine and election to Fellowship in the American College of Emergency Physicians followed. As a Concord Hospital staff physician he chaired several committees including: education, laboratory, physician-nurse liaison, credentials, emergency services, and executive. In 1985 he was elected President of the Medical Staff. He was also President of the New Hampshire chapter of emergency physicians. Other medical positions and appointments included: Associate Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, Chairman Concord Board of Health, and consultant to The New Hampshire Hospital where he served as a volunteer one half day every other week. In 1970 he was named "Man of the Year" by the Concord YMCA. He, also with Robert Wita of the YMCA staff, had developed an anti-smoking program. Over three years this program was presented to fifth and sixth graders in schools around the state more than seventy times. Dr. Underwood was a member of the Board of Trustees of Concord Hospital and a member of the Boards of Directors of several organizations, including: Concord Mental Health Services, Visiting Nurses, Concord YMCA, Mountain Medicine Education, The American Service Bureau, and Frontiers of Knowledge. In addition to his research article in The Lancet, his research, and medical articles were published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Medical Economics, The Journal of Insurance Medicine, and several local publications. After retiring from clinical medicine he was employed by Chubb LifeAmerica, where he became vice-president, senior medical director, and head of underwriting. He served as Chubb's representative on the American Counsel of Life Insurance where he acted as chairman of the national AIDS committee. He was also a member of the Chubb Charitable Contributions Committee, and frequently said that he enjoyed playing philanthropist with Chubb money. He was active in Democratic politics, being elected treasurer of the Concord Democratic Committee, and he was a member of the advisory and executive committees of the N.H. State Democratic Party. He was Merrimack County chairman for the Eugene McCarthy-for-President campaign and the Thomas McIntyre U.S. Senate Campaign. He was a member of the New Hampshire delegation to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As an avid outdoorsmen his other activities included being a scoutmaster of Troup 79 in Concord, a member of National Ski Patrol, the Appalachian Mountain 4000-foot club, and the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School medical staff. His musical activities included singing in several groups including the Concord Community Chorus, the New Hampshire Musical Festival Symphonic Chorus, and the Pemigewasset Choral Society. He was a member of the board of directors of the N.H. Music Festival and the chairman of its education committee. For several years he was the host of a pre-concert lecture series entitled Words on Music. He moved to Bow in 1988 after 36 years living at 29 Rumford Street in Concord. He has been active as a member of the Bow Ambulance Oversight Committee and the Bow Community Men's Club, where he serves as its Scholarship Committee chairman. In 2007, in recognition of all Dr. Underwood's contributions, Concord Hospital opened the Underwood Trauma Center. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Murray Underwood of Bow, NH; three sons, D. Geoffrey Underwood of Holliston, MA, Derek G. Underwood of Sugar Hill, NH, and Chester A. (Chip) Underwood of Brighton, MA.; three step-daughters, Karen Murray of East Hartford, CT., Linda Kolb of Plano, TX, and Jean Stewart of Moon Township, PA; two sisters, Dr. Anita U. Greene of Amherst, MA, and Dr. Mirrless R. Underwood of Brewster, MA, and nine grandchildren, Cecilia, Annie and Josephine Underwood; Christian, Dustin and Kaelie Murray-Simmons; Laura and Andrew Stewart; and Emily Kolb. Friends and family are invited to a celebration of Dr. Underwood's life on Sunday, December, 7, 2008, from 1:00 – 4:00 at the N.H. Audubon Center, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH. There will be an opportunity at 2:00 for those who wish to share memories of Dr. Underwood. Guests are also encouraged to bring written remembrances and/or photos for inclusion in a memory book. Memorial gifts: Underwood Trauma Center c/o Concord Hospital philanthropy office 250 Pleasant Street Concord, NH 03301 or, Pemigewasset Choral Society P.O. Box 115 Plymouth, NH 03264