The founder of the American Shoulder and Elbow Society, Charles A. Rockwood, Jr., M.D. died on February 1, 2022, at age 92. One of the pioneers in hip and knee surgery, he will be remembered for his significant contributions to orthopedics.
He was known as one of the premier shoulder surgeons in the world with young doctors from around the world vying for his fellowships. He was instrumental in helping develop DePuy’s Global Total Shoulder system which became the leading total shoulder arthroplasty system in the U.S. and the world. He performed the first implantation of the Global Shoulder in the summer of 1990.
Education was very important to Rockwood. He emphasized the importance of surgeon education when introducing the Global Shoulder and was a key contributor in the publication of three major orthopedic textbooks that are still used today.
Ironically, however, his journey to becoming a doctor wasn’t as straightforward as one would expect considering the caliber of his skill and knowledge. Rockwood was born in Oklahoma City on September 19, 1929, to Charles A. and Dorothy Rockwood. After graduating Classen High School in Oklahoma City and attending Oklahoma City University for pre-med studies, he did not initially get accepted into medical school.
He ended up spending a year on graduate studies before being accepted to the University of Oklahoma Medical School from which he graduated in 1956. He then completed a one-year internship at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone before returning to Oklahoma City to serve in an Air Force-sponsored orthopedic surgery residency under the mentorship of Dr. Don O’Donoghue, pioneer knee surgeon and one of the fathers of American sports medicine.
After his residency, he spent five years at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. He remained in the United States Air Force Reserve and retired as a Full Colonel.
In 1966, he became the third member of the surgical faculty at University Texas Health Science Center (now UT Health) in San Antonio. He then went on to serve as the Chief of the Division of Orthopaedics there.
Dr. Rockwood was also a past president of both the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation. He was also an honorary fellow in the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Scotland, and was recipient of the American-British Canadian Fellowship Award in 1967.
In his free time, Rockwood enjoyed the outdoors, camping and golfing. His family took an annual camping trip at the Frio River for over 50 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 46 years, Patsy Flanagan Rockwood as well as his eldest son, Charles A. Rockwood III. He is survived by his sister Regina Gallus and well as eight children and their spouses, 19 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
According to his obituary, Rockwood considered his family to be “his major accomplishment and greatest blessing.” They brought him the greatest joy in his life.
An icon in our great field clearly valued the life-work balance. As I always thought, NOBODY has an epitaph that says “Here lies Dr. X- Wished he had spent more time in the operating room and office”
Lessons learned. I was proud to once sit next to “Charlie” at a lunch presentation and felt his commitment to our grand profession of healing…. #HealthcarefromtheTrenches
What a great teacher and kind man.
He left the world a better place. His residents and fellows will carry on his kindnesses for decades to come.
RIP, Dr Rockwood. I met you once at a conference, but talked to your fellows. They knew they were close to greatness.