Douglas M. Enoch, M.D. (NS ’66)

Douglas McLearn, M.D. Douglas McLearn Enoch, M.D., passed away peacefully on November 14, 2014 at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California, with loving family by his side. Douglas was born April 20, 1933 in Waukegan, Illinois to Olive McLearn Enoch and Clyde M. Enoch. After graduation from Waukegan Township High School, he attended Northwestern University undergraduate and medical schools. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and received his Master of Science degree from the University of Minnesota. At Northwestern, he was president of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, and Phi Beta Kappa.

He began his neurosurgical practice in Sacramento in 1967 but took a 2 year military leave serving as a Cmdr. in the U.S.Navy Medical Corps. Returning to Sacramento in January 1970 he resumed his medical practice and was on the staffs of Mercy Hospitals, Sutter Hospitals, and Roseville Community Hospital. He was an Assistant Professor at the U.C.Davis Medical School and an active member of the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society for nearly 50 years. His professional memberships included his Board Certification by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Heart Association and Stroke Council, and the AMA and CMA.

In 1982, he served as President of the California Association of Neurological Surgeons and was also a founding member of the Sacramento Neurological Society Doug loved the outdoors and any adventure that offered a challenge: hunting deer and elk in Montana snows, fly fishing in the Western States and Canada, hunting birds in Sacramento Valley fields with good friends and his Labradors, water skiing on Wednesdays with the Folsom Lake “rat pack”, seeing how many runs he could make skiing at Northstar or with friends in the Kandahar Ski Club. Some of his favorite adventures were Captaining sailing charters to the Greek Islands, Tonga, the San Juan Islands, and the Caribbean with his wife Sylvia and friends as crew. According to Doug, the voyage was always a little better if they encountered a tropical storm or two. He enjoyed flying as a private pilot and trading stories with fellow members of the Sacramento County Sheriffs Air Squadron.

After his retirement he joined the Rotary Club of Sacramento and was an Eddie Mulligan Fellow and a Paul Harris Fellow. He and Sylvia enjoyed traveling with other Rotarians and their families on trips to Europe for Rotary International meetings. Doug had a lifelong love of music especially classical and opera. He was a board member of the Sacramento Symphony, the Sacramento Opera, and the recently merged Sacramento/Opera Alliance. He loved to sing and was an enthusiastic member of the James Mitchell Chorale, and he and Sylvia enjoyed being part of several European concert tours with the group. In recent years, he thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Sacramento Capitolaires Barbershop Chorus and regretted that health issues prevented him from full participation.

Douglas will be remembered by family and friends as a well-respected surgeon who truly loved neurosurgery. He had a curious mind and love of learning that continued throughout his life; he lived life to the fullest and treasured his friends; he enjoyed telling a good story or joke (always more embellished with each telling); and he was a man who kept his sense of humor and love of medicine right to the end.

He was predeceased by his parents and his sister Patricia Jacobs. He is survived by Sylvia, his wife of 38 years, his stepson Mark Bliss (Lisa) of San Antonio, his grandchildren Sarah Bliss of Ann Arbor, MI and Evan Bliss of Long Beach, CA, brother-in-law Will Morrow of Los Angeles, CA, nephew Kurt Jacobs of Gurnee, IL, nieces Barbara Merrill of Waukegan, IL, Elise Dunn of Seattle, WA, Christiane Chase of Sacramento, and Jennifer Castiglioni of Pacific Grove, CA. The family extends heartfelt thanks to Dr. Eric Klineberg, Dr. William Bommer, and members of the Cardiac Thoracic ICU Unit, especially Critical Care RN Ned Millett, at UC Davis Medical Center for the excellent and compassionate care they provided. At his request no services will be held.

The family will honor him with a celebration of his life after the first of the year, and friends will be notified of the date and location. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Sacramento SPCA, 6201 Florin Perkins Rd., Sacramento, CA 95828 or online at www.SSPCA.org.

Obituary courtesy of Legacy.com.