Dr. Raeburn Llewellyn, surgeon and educator, dies at 89
Times Picayune October 29, 2009


************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
************************************************



Dr. Raeburn Carson Llewellyn, a former chairman of neurosurgery at Tulane University School of
Medicine who spent nearly two decades training fledgling surgeons, died Oct. 18 at his New
Orleans home. He was 89.

"He loved teaching. He liked residents," said Dr. Donald Richardson, one of his proteges. "I
think he liked that more than doing surgery."

Dr. Llewellyn, who was at Tulane from 1960 to 1979, usually had about a half-dozen residents a
year at his elbow.

When he arrived, Richardson said, residents trained at Ochsner Clinic and Charity Hospital. Dr.
Llewellyn added the Veterans Administration Medical Center to their rounds.

"That was a big step in helping the training program," said Richardson, a Tulane neurosurgeon.
"The VA liked the fact that they had a neurosurgeon service. At the time, it was the only one (at
a VA center) between Houston and Atlanta."

Dr. Llewellyn "gave us a lot of credit and a lot of responsibility," said Dr. Chuck Clark of
Beaumont, who trained under Dr. Llewellyn.

Although Dr. Llewellyn was always nearby, "he would let you figure (problems) out with his
guidance -- not to correct you, but to let you learn on your own," Clark said.

Because of the high level of skill required, and because the residents were spread among three
hospitals, "it was a very hard-working service," said Richardson. "Lew was the kind of guy who
could roll with it. If you get somebody there who's uptight and compulsive, he'd go crazy."

Although Dr. Llewellyn was a dedicated doctor, his former students said he knew how to have a
good time. He was a skilled handicapper who always did well at the New Orleans Fair Grounds,
Richardson said, and he enjoyed surprising people.

Once, Clark said, Dr. Llewellyn gave him three tickets to a Russian-themed ballet -- one for
Llewellyn's wife, two for Clark and his spouse -- without saying why he didn't include a ticket
for himself.

Off they went. "Halfway through the performance, here comes Dr. Llewellyn on stage, in costume,
with his two Russian wolfhounds," Clark said. "It was part of the production."

A native of Corbin, Ky., Dr. Llewellyn earned an undergraduate degree at the University of
Alabama and a medical degree at the University of Virginia. He was a flight surgeon in the Air
Force.

He came to New Orleans in 1947 for his internship, which he served at Ochsner Clinic, Tulane and
Charity.

In 1952, he joined the Ochsner Clinic staff, staying there until 1960, when he went to Tulane.

Dr. Llewellyn went into private practice in 1979. He stopped operating in 1996, but he provided
chronic-pain management until he retired in 2001.

Survivors include his wife, Carmen Llewellyn; a son, Raeburn Carson Llewellyn Jr. of Houston; and
three daughters, Mary Rebecca Llewellyn and Patricia Lee Llewellyn, both of Charlottesville, Va.,
and Eliza Lee Llewellyn.

A memorial service will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100
Pontchartrain Blvd. Visitation will start at noon. Burial will be private.