Andre T. Guay, M.D. (ENDO 1974)

Dr. André Theodore Guay died Tuesday, December 16, 2014 in Portsmouth, NH after suffering from a VFib arrest one week prior. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his wife and three daughters. He was 72. Andy was born in Worcester MA on July 19, 1942 to Theodore A. and Anna E. (Chabot) Guay of Webster MA.

After 37 years, André retired from the Lahey Medical Center in May 2014. At Lahey, he served as Chair of the Department of Endocrinology, as well as the Director of the Endocrinology Fellowship Program and the founder and Director of the Center for Sexual Function. He was a clinical professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and at Harvard Medical School.

Andy graduated from Assumption Prep in 1960, earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston College in 1964, and received his medical degree in 1968 from the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester MA, and a fellowship in endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. Before joining Lahey, he served as Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy from 1974-1977 as a head of the endocrine department and head of research at the Naval Regional Medical Center in in Portsmouth VA.

Throughout his career, Dr. Guay received many awards and was most recently honored by the Massachusetts Medical Society as the 2014 recipient of the society’s Men’s Health Award, which recognizes an individual who has advanced the cause of men’s health. He authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, and was regarded as a pioneer and leader in the field of men’s sexual function. He was internationally renowned for his work and lectured around the globe.

Andy’s greatest gift was his ability to honor people’s dignity and treat others with respect. He held his own beliefs firmly and was never afraid to speak up to defend what he believed to be true, but he never judged. Patients appreciated his wisdom, humility, honesty, irreverent sense of humor, and colorful vocabulary.

He was a student of life. His hobbies became passions: travel, photography, wine, good food (or peanut butter and fluff), military history, and sharing his wife’s interest in birds and natural history. His competitive spirit erupted when playing cards, watching his children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events, and participating verbally (and sometimes physically) at Boston College football games.

Andy leaves behind his wife of 49 years, Barbara (Madore) Guay, his children, Andrea Guay and her husband Robert Pokelwaldt of Newburyport, MA, Danielle Guay Megliola and her husband Michael of Portsmouth, NH, Stephanie Guay Deihl and her husband Doug of Portsmouth, NH, and his nine grandchildren (to whom he was Papa Andy): Hannah, Sarah and Dara Pokelwaldt, Anthony, André and Leo Megliola, and Adelaide, Jack and Louisa Deihl. He also leaves behind his Aunt Pat Turgeon, cousins, and his wife’s siblings and their spouses, whom he considered his own.

Calling hours for Andy will be held on Sunday afternoon from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. at J. Verne Wood Funeral Home – Buckminster Chapel, 84 Broad Street in Portsmouth, NH. Relatives, friends and colleagues are invited to meet at 10:00 on Monday morning for a Funeral Mass at St. Theresa’s Church, 820 Central Road, in Rye, NH. Burial will follow in Rye Central Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Lahey Clinic Foundation or the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW).

Contributions to Lahey in memory of Dr. André T. Guay can be made online at www.lahey.org/makeagift or checks payable to Lahey Clinic Foundation “in support of Medical Education Endocrinology Fellowship Fund” can be mailed to Philanthropy, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01805.

Contributions to the VFW in memory of Dr. André T. Guay can be made online at http://www.vfw.org/Contribute/, or checks payable to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States can be mailed to National Headquarters, 406 W. 34th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.

Obituary courtesy of JD Wood Funeral Home.