Dr. Marcelle M. Willock

Dr. Marcelle M. Willock, Professor Emerita of Anesthesiology, Chair of the Department from 1982 to 1998, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, passed away on October 12, 2022, from complications after emergency surgery while visiting relatives in Toronto, Canada. She was 84.

Dr. Willock remained a vibrant and engaged member of the faculty at Boston University attending lectures and interacting with students, residents and attendings before falling ill. She was among the first women of color to lead an academic and clinical department in the United States and the first Black woman to achieve emeritus status at Boston University.

While serving in the former University Hospital and Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center), Dr. Willock had a number of noteworthy accomplishments, including accrediting the anesthesia residency program and modernizing the administration of anesthetics. She was responsible for standardizing guidelines related to patient safety and for introducing pulse oximetry, capnography and transesophageal echocardiography, among other innovations, into operating rooms. In the early 1980s, dentists were still providing anesthesia at Boston City Hospital. One of her most remarkable actions was to end this practice and to assure that only qualified physician anesthesiologists could provide anesthesia care following the care team model promulgated by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

She served on innumerable committees on the Boston University Medical Campus, was president of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists, president of the Society of Academic Chairs, and held a variety of leadership positions within the American Society of Anesthesiologists. She also served as president of the Louis and Martha Deveaux Foundation, a charitable organization in the Republic of Panama founded by her grandparents.

Dr. Willock also was a consultant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a member of the Board of Directors for the Boston Police Athletic League. She worked in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City and served as a trustee for the College of New Rochelle. After leaving Boston University, Dr. Willock became the first female Dean of Charles Drew University College of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, where she retired in 2005. An advocate for civil rights and diversity, she collaborated with many programs addressing health care disparities and the fair treatment of minorities.

Dr. Willock generously supported two important funds at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine – the Violeta Martinez and Rafael Ortega Anesthesiology Research Fund and the Marcelle M. Willock, MD, Faculty Development & Diversity Program, a longitudinal leadership development program for faculty from under-represented groups in medicine.

In 2020, she was featured in an article in Bostonia, Boston University’s Alumni Magazine, which can be found here: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/opening-doors-marcelle-willock/<https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/opening-doors-marcelle-willock/.

Dr. Willock was the loving daughter of the late George and Renee Willock, and devoted sister of the late Ronald and Michael Willock. Beloved aunt to George Willock of Long Beach, CA, Yvette Willock of Inglewood, CA, Dominic Willock and his wife Chantelle of Toronto, Canada and Jason Willock and his wife Lindsey Ross, M.D. of Los Angeles, CA. Cherished great aunt of Mackenzie Willock, Cole Willock, and Gabrielle Willock. Loved sister-in-law to Frances Willock and Camille Willock. Dearest godmother to Leslie Hazelwood Spurr, Ila Dos Santos Barnes, and Rafael Ortega. 

A funeral mass will be celebrated at Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, 28 Commonwealth Ave, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, on November 12, 2002, at 11:00am.  The Catholic Mass will be streamed at https://www.harborview.live/, the broadcast will open at 10:30am. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Violeta Martinez and Rafael Ortega Anesthesiology Research Fund

The family invites friends and colleagues to a reception immediately following the service at Boston University: The Castle, 225 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215.

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