Rachel M. Guest MD’96, 51, died June 10, 2022. Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Guest grew up in Plattsburgh, NY, and attended Bryn Mawr and the Brown-Dartmouth Medical Program. She completed her pediatrics residency at Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Guest cared for children in emergency and urgent care settings. For her last 10 years she worked at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, where coworkers prized her mentorship of younger colleagues and her medical problem-solving skills. Though her practice preference lay in critical care, she was deeply interested in preventive measures, particularly nutrition and diet.
An outdoors person, Dr. Guest loved to run; hike in the western US and Canada; and travel to Kauai, HI. Many of these experiences she captured in stunning photographs. She was active in various causes, particularly the reduction of gun violence and maintaining the health of the natural environment. A gourmet, she could always find the best ice cream in town. She is survived by her parents, brother, sister, and beloved nephews and nieces.
Ferdinand T. Jones Jr., PhD, 90, died Sept. 10, 2022. Dr. Jones was professor emeritus of psychology at Brown University and a former lecturer at the Medical School. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Drew University and then joined the Army, serving in Germany. After discharge, he earned his PhD in psychology at the University of Vienna. Upon returning to New York he was an active part of the community mental health movement, taking a variety of positions that bridged social justice and psychological concerns.
After four years on the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College, Dr. Jones came to Brown in 1972. As the inaugural director of the Department of Psychological Services, formed in 1980, he supported innovative programming that targeted the positive mental health of the campus as a whole. He developed well-regarded courses on Cultural Mistrust, the Cultural Context of Psychotherapy, and Human Resilience long before it was the broadly accepted concept it is today. At the Medical School, Dr. Jones established seminars on minority issues for clinical psychology interns and postdoctoral fellows. He led one of the earliest affinity groups, which continued to meet every few years until his death.
Dr. Jones made numerous contributions to Brown, the surrounding community, and professional associations, including president of the American Orthopsychiatric Association. He was a visiting professor at several institutions around the world. His final professional commitment was as a core faculty member at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology, which trains multiculturally oriented psychologists to work with low-income and racially and ethnically diverse populations.
He had a lifelong passion for jazz, and explored the ways that jazz embodies affirming elements of African American culture as well as crucial resilience elements in a book he edited with his brother, Arthur, also a psychologist, The Triumph of the Soul: Cultural and Psychological Aspects of African American Music. Dr. Jones spent every summer on Beals Island, ME, for more than 50 years. He enjoyed the beauty of the woods and ocean, and he treasured the deep and lasting friendships he made there.
Dr. Jones was profoundly grateful for his long life, countless fulfilling relationships, many professional achievements, and most importantly, for his family. He is survived by his brother, two daughters, granddaughter, great-grandsons, and his partner, Belinda Johnson.
Daniel S. Harrop III ’76 MD’79 RES’83, MBA, 68, died Sept. 29, 2022. He was a clinical psychiatrist in Portsmouth, RI, and a leader in Rhode Island politics and religious, educational, and civic causes.
Born in West Warwick, RI, Dr. Harrop completed the seven-year Program in Medicine and his psychiatry residency at Brown. While in private practice in Portsmouth, he held faculty positions at Brown and Harvard Medical School and staff appointments at several local hospitals, including Butler, where he served terms as chief of the Short-term Treatment Program and General Treatment Unit.
A dedicated Brunonian, Dr. Harrop served on the Brown University Alumni Association and the Brown Medical Alumni Association, as well as numerous civic, political, and religious organizations. For several decades he also was a member of the medical advisory boards of the state Workers’ Compensation Court and Registry of Motor Vehicle Licensure. He believed the only way to improve things was to get involved, donating his time, talent, and financial resources to many causes.
Dr. Harrop may have been best known in Rhode Island as a longtime Republican activist who ran unsuccessful bids for mayor and the general assembly in Providence, where he lived most of his life. In 2014, he was the Republican nominee for Providence mayor, running against Jorge Elorza and former mayor (and convicted felon) Buddy Cianci. As the Boston Globe reported when Dr. Harrop died: “Harrop selflessly chose to place the future of the city ahead of his political party and his own ambition, spending the rest of his campaign urging voters to not return to the corrupt politics of the past. He ended up donating to Elorza, and then voting for him in an effort to stop Cianci from returning to City Hall.”
Dr. Harrop enjoyed traveling, a good meal, a good laugh, a good story, history, reading, and his community involvement. He is survived by his partner, Jeffrey Harrington; his brother; two sisters; his best friend and cousin; his beloved dog; and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and other family and friends.
Frank Rothman, PhD, P’82 GP’10 GP’13, died Oct. 23, 2022. Dr. Rothman was professor emeritus of biology and former provost at Brown.
After receiving a PhD in organic chemistry from Harvard University in 1955, Dr. Rothman switched to the new field of molecular genetics. He joined Brown’s faculty in 1961, and taught courses in biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and aging, winning several teaching awards. His research on the regulation of gene expression in bacteria and cellular slime molds was funded by nine consecutive grants from the
National Science Foundation.
Dr. Rothman was named dean of biology in 1984, and during his tenure he led a reform of the introductory biology courses and served as program director for a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant for undergraduate biology at Brown. He was the founding director of the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, and its training grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, now in its 31st year. From 1990 to 1995, he served as provost, a role that involved him in—among others—all institutional issues regarding science, mathematics and engineering education. Since his retirement in 1997, Dr. Rothman was active with the Progeria Research Foundation and with Project Kaleidoscope, which advocates for advances in undergraduate science education.
In 1995, President Vartan Gregorian established the Frank and Joan Rothman Lecture to recognize the career-long contributions the couple made to Brown. The purpose of the fund is to bring to the University a scholar to present work either on basic genetic and molecular biological mechanisms (the area of Frank Rothman’s research), or, in alternate years, on contributions to our understanding of how individuals can contribute to their own health (an area of particular interest to Joan Rothman, a professor of biology, who died in 2020).
He is survived by four children, including Maria Boyd ’82; six grandchildren, including Alex ’10 and Elizabeth ’13; and one great-grandchild.
John H. McGowan RES’77, MD, 80, died Dec. 14, 2022. He was a pediatrician, allergist, and immunologist in Mystic, CT, who specialized in the critical care of premature infants.
A proud graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, John raced in several Bermuda Races, crossed the Atlantic on the tall ship Eagle, and served on an ice breaker and as engineering officer. During his time at the academy he met the love of his life, Marcia, at a mixer at Connecticut College, and they married after his graduation in 1964.
After his honorable discharge in 1968, John retrained as a physician at the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed his residency at Brown. He was a devoted and beloved doctor with a perennially overfull appointment book. He also continued to sail in numerous races with friends. Later in life, he served on the Mudhead Race Committee and as rear commodore of the Mason’s Island Yacht Club in Mystic, and became an English croquet champion and mini-golf wizard. An avid reader, John always had five or six books stacked by his bedside and favorite chair, which he read all at once. His search for knowledge and understanding was insatiable.
John was a kind, generous, and skilled physician who had a perennial twinkle in his eye and an unending zest for life. His warmth and compassion, gentleness, strength of character, generosity of spirit, and abiding love of the sea were always evident. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marcia, his two daughters, brother, sister, and numerous other relatives. Donations in his memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.
