TY - JOUR T1 - In Memoriam – Hugh A. Smythe, 1927–2012 JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 343 LP - 347 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.121357 VL - 40 IS - 4 AU - Murray B. Urowitz AU - Duncan Gordon AU - Charles H. Goldsmith AU - Frederick Wolfe Y1 - 2013/04/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/40/4/343.abstract N2 - Murray B. Urowitz Dr. Hugh Arthur Smythe died peacefully at his home in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday, October 14, 2012, at age 85, with his family around him: his beloved wife of 62 years, Bernice, his children Richard (Barb), Anne (Bob), and Conn (Christine). I have known Hugh for over 4 decades but have always found it a challenge to adequately describe this very eclectic person. Hugh was a physician, a scientist, an educator, an administrator, a hockey doctor, a collector and patron of the arts, and a philanthropist. As a physician, Hugh cared for patients with rheumatologic diseases for almost a half century. When he began his career, there were only a handful of rheumatologists in all of Canada and he can truly be credited with attracting so many into the field, including me. He was instrumental in having rheumatic disease units achieve equal recognition with the other medical subspecialties for government healthcare resources and was an important influence in having rheumatology recognized as a speciality by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The many students that he taught over the years carry on his caring legacy. As a scientist, Hugh was engaged in basic, clinical, and epidemiologic research. His work with Fraser Mustard on the role of platelets in the development of atherosclerosis has stood the test of time. Similarly, he studied the mechanisms of inflammation in the heart/aorta of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. In clinical investigation he was a leader in the description of fibromyalgia as a valid clinical entity and he studied its associated mechanical and sleep-associated mechanisms. Hugh was an ardent advocate for valid clinical measurement of rheumatologic diseases, and his joint and point count studies remain relevant today. His “pooled index” predated the ACR20 by many years. Finally, Hugh was also … ER -