David S. Newcombe ’52 died June 11, 2010.
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DAVID S. NEWCOMBE ’52
David died unexpectedly June 11 at his home in Weston, Mass. David was a true gentleman and a gentle man. He was a good man, a good husband, a good father, a good physician and a good Amherst man.
He was born in Boston, and after graduating from the Roxbury Latin School in 1948, it was off to Amherst. He majored, of course, in biology, and as he himself noted, the grind kept his nose in books and he couldn’t socialize as much as he wanted. But David was thankful for “all the great people I never knew in college but with whom I have been fortunate to share friendships later on.” This applies to me. I really “met” David, even though we were both Phi Gams, at a reunion.
David earned an M.D., C.M. from McGill University in 1956 and then served as captain in the U.S. Army in Korea. He was an intern at Boston City Hospital and assistant resident at Duke University Medical Center. He then studied biological chemistry at Harvard. Then on to become a full professor at Johns Hopkins.
David was incredibly busy, in addition to an internal medicine practice specializing in rheumatology, he taught, wrote articles and even a just-finished book on gout. David was particularly pleased with his healing work for his buddies behind bars at the federal prison.
After the sad death of his first wife, he was really lucky to meet and marry the Norwegian beauty, Sissel, and they were married 45 years. They were blessed with no less than three lovely daughters: Catherine Newcombe ’88 of Washington, D.C.; Kiki Shilling of Lincoln, Mass.; and Sarah Faucett of Weston, Mass., not to overlook five grandchildren.
David is lovingly missed by all his family and many friends.
—Peter Rowland ’52