Dr. Roland James St. Hilaire's Obituary
Roland James St. Hilaire was born on Sept. 8, 1946, in Gardner, Ma. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Clark University with majors in chemistry and art history, He received his Master’s in Pharmacology at Northeastern University. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine from Emory University in 1975. He completed his internal medicine internship at the University of Cincinnati and his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle.
He did research with Dr. John Brunzell at the Dept. of Chemical Pathology and Metabolic Disorders at St. Thomas Medical School in London, England. He completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of California. San Francisco. He published multiple papers on his research with epidermal growth factor and nutrient absorption. He was among the first gastroenterologists to describe specific intestinal complications in patients living with AIDS.
He loved travelling and lived in the U.K., Japan and Saudi, Arabia.
He married Shirley Ferguson in 1989. He and his wife travelled to many countries during their life together
Wonderful cruises! They shared a lifelong fascination with the arts!
Dr. St. Hilaire and his wife moved to Memphis in 1991, and he served as an associate professor of medicine division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of TN health science center,
He helped to design and supervise the endoscopic and clinical facilities at the Regional One Med Hospital.
After a brief period of practice in Seattle, WA., he returned to Memphis and served at the Memphis VA medical center until 2021
He was a respected clinician and educator. He loved caring for his patients. He had a busy practice and actively taught endoscopic skills to gastroenterology fellowship trainees over 3 decades.
Dr. St. Hilaire died on December 2, 2024, in Memphis TN.
He was preceded in death by his father, Roland J. St. Hilaire and his mother, Jennie R. Pawalowicz-St. Hilaire.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley St. Hilaire, and a host of relatives and friends.
The family will receive relatives and friends on January 25 at 11:00 a.m. followed by a memorial service to celebrate Jim’s life will be held on Jan. 25, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home in the Riverside Chapel.
To view the service online, please click on the link below.
https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/108955/hash:D34F02211D904F1F
In lieu of flowers. the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude’s Hospital. the ASPCA or Best Friends Animal Shelter.
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