Obituary from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and www.jasn.org:
With the passing of Laurence E. Earley (January 23, 1931–March 13, 2012), American medicine has lost an outstanding academic leader. Earley was truly a gentleman and scholar as befits a son of North Carolina. He was a page in the U.S. House of Representatives as a teenager, present for addresses to joint sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He also was in the House chamber when General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, five weeks after World War II ended in Europe. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, then attended medical school at the same institution. He received the Isaac W. Manning Award as the outstanding member of his senior class. Larry Earley received his training in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Services at Boston City Hospital. He pursued research training in kidney diseases and physiology at the National Institutes of Health. After this training Larry was recruited as a junior faculty member to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. With an exceptional early research record in renal hemodynamics, he was recruited to be Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country. I was very fortunate to have been a member of his renal faculty in San Francisco. Larry was an extremely intelligent and scholarly leader who had exceptional personal qualities of integrity and fairness. On the background of his academic leadership and accomplishments as a Division Chief in San Francisco, he was recruited to be the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Services Center in San Antonio. In that position from 1973 to 1977, Larry enhanced the academic mission of the department and the school. From 1977 to 1990, Larry was Chair of the Department ofMedicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine. He was Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1987 to 1995. In 1995 Larry returned to the University of North Carolina as Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000. Throughout Larry Earley's distinguished career, he continued to provide leadership in nephrology nationally and internationally. He was elected a Councilor of the International Society of Nephrology and President of the American Society of Nephrology. The senior academic medical society in the United States is the Association of American Physicians. Larry Earley was elected President of that important academic organization. He was chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine and was elected aMaster of the American College of Physicians. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair Earley, at Yellowstone National Park, where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, photography, and his family. He is survived by his lovely wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr. and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. He was predeceased by his sons Andrew and Geoffrey.∼A year ago, at 81 years of age, Larry Earley passed into that pantheon of distinguished academic physicians and we lost one of the great nephrologists of the 20th Century.
A native of Ahoskie, NC, Earley began his formative career as a page in the United States House of Representatives. He was present for addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and also was in chamber of the House of Representatives when General Dwight Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, 5 weeks after World War II ended in Europe.
Earley later earned his bachelor and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina, obtained a residency in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital, and then completed 2 years of training in kidney disease and physiology with Jack Orloff at the National Institutes of Health. He subsequently returned to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital to launch his career as an assistant professor of medicine.
Although it seems surprising today, there was a time not too long ago when very little was known about the inner workings of the kidney. Earley and his generation changed all that. His major contribution to renal medicine was uncovering how much of the nephron handles sodium chloride—one of the most important achievements in renal science of the last century. Earley was also one of the first to suggest that hemodynamic changes in proximal reabsorption of sodium might explain the retention of sodium chloride in medical disorders where there is edema formation. These concepts helped establish an early coherent view of how each of us regulates body salt in health and disease, and for a good many years he was a leading authority on natriuresis.
With this exceptional research record in studying renal hemodynamics, Earley was recruited in 1968 by Holly Smith to be founding chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position, with Isidore Edelman and Marilyn Farquhar as colleagues in other departments, he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country, recruiting such luminaries at Barry Brenner and Robert Schrier.
On this background of leadership and accomplishment, Earley was recruited in 1973 to chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. In 1977, he was appointed the Frank Wister Thomas professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine.
While at Penn, Earley rebuilt much of the department into a celebrated entity; he offered me my first academic appointment as a young assistant professor and, in 1989, began my mentorship as chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, and we became friends. To know him, waggish people might think he was born an adult, but he actually had great impish humor among his closest colleagues. He lived by the simple belief that integrity was paramount to everything else in life and principles only meant something at moments of great inconvenience; my first appointment to the faculty and subsequently accepting the position of Chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division were all settled with a handshake—and he delivered everything as promised and more. After a stint as Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he returned to the University of North Carolina as professor of clinical medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000.
As a result of these superb academic accomplishments, American Medicine beatified Earley with the presidencies of the American Society for Clinical investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society of Nephrology; along the way he also was awarded a mastership by the American College of Physicians, served as chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. A natural leader, and for his times, he gracefully elevated all of the organizations he served so well.
What do you say about a complete man; self-made, outwardly shy and uniquely charismatic, academically ambitious, innovative as a scientist, an agile administrator, loved by a close family, and one of the warmest people one could sit with to sort out nearly every kind of problem. A clever and shrewd politician, in times of academic turmoil he remained an ever gifted, guiding hand. A true gentleman, Earley radiated great emotional intelligence with exceptional qualities of aequanimitas and fairness. These gifts he infected on all who were susceptible, adding a new level of civility to university life.
While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair, at Yellowstone National Park where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, PA, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, and photography. His cherished memory is closely held by his adorable wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. His sons Andrew and Geoffrey predeceased him.
With the passing of Laurence E. Earley (January 23, 1931–March 13, 2012), American medicine has lost an outstanding academic leader. Earley was truly a gentleman and scholar as befits a son of North Carolina. He was a page in the U.S. House of Representatives as a teenager, present for addresses to joint sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He also was in the House chamber when General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, five weeks after World War II ended in Europe. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, then attended medical school at the same institution. He received the Isaac W. Manning Award as the outstanding member of his senior class. Larry Earley received his training in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Services at Boston City Hospital. He pursued research training in kidney diseases and physiology at the National Institutes of Health. After this training Larry was recruited as a junior faculty member to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. With an exceptional early research record in renal hemodynamics, he was recruited to be Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country. I was very fortunate to have been a member of his renal faculty in San Francisco. Larry was an extremely intelligent and scholarly leader who had exceptional personal qualities of integrity and fairness. On the background of his academic leadership and accomplishments as a Division Chief in San Francisco, he was recruited to be the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Services Center in San Antonio. In that position from 1973 to 1977, Larry enhanced the academic mission of the department and the school. From 1977 to 1990, Larry was Chair of the Department ofMedicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine. He was Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1987 to 1995. In 1995 Larry returned to the University of North Carolina as Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000. Throughout Larry Earley's distinguished career, he continued to provide leadership in nephrology nationally and internationally. He was elected a Councilor of the International Society of Nephrology and President of the American Society of Nephrology. The senior academic medical society in the United States is the Association of American Physicians. Larry Earley was elected President of that important academic organization. He was chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine and was elected aMaster of the American College of Physicians. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair Earley, at Yellowstone National Park, where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, photography, and his family. He is survived by his lovely wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr. and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. He was predeceased by his sons Andrew and Geoffrey.∼A year ago, at 81 years of age, Larry Earley passed into that pantheon of distinguished academic physicians and we lost one of the great nephrologists of the 20th Century.
A native of Ahoskie, NC, Earley began his formative career as a page in the United States House of Representatives. He was present for addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and also was in chamber of the House of Representatives when General Dwight Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, 5 weeks after World War II ended in Europe.
Earley later earned his bachelor and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina, obtained a residency in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital, and then completed 2 years of training in kidney disease and physiology with Jack Orloff at the National Institutes of Health. He subsequently returned to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital to launch his career as an assistant professor of medicine.
Although it seems surprising today, there was a time not too long ago when very little was known about the inner workings of the kidney. Earley and his generation changed all that. His major contribution to renal medicine was uncovering how much of the nephron handles sodium chloride—one of the most important achievements in renal science of the last century. Earley was also one of the first to suggest that hemodynamic changes in proximal reabsorption of sodium might explain the retention of sodium chloride in medical disorders where there is edema formation. These concepts helped establish an early coherent view of how each of us regulates body salt in health and disease, and for a good many years he was a leading authority on natriuresis.
With this exceptional research record in studying renal hemodynamics, Earley was recruited in 1968 by Holly Smith to be founding chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position, with Isidore Edelman and Marilyn Farquhar as colleagues in other departments, he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country, recruiting such luminaries at Barry Brenner and Robert Schrier.
On this background of leadership and accomplishment, Earley was recruited in 1973 to chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. In 1977, he was appointed the Frank Wister Thomas professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine.
While at Penn, Earley rebuilt much of the department into a celebrated entity; he offered me my first academic appointment as a young assistant professor and, in 1989, began my mentorship as chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, and we became friends. To know him, waggish people might think he was born an adult, but he actually had great impish humor among his closest colleagues. He lived by the simple belief that integrity was paramount to everything else in life and principles only meant something at moments of great inconvenience; my first appointment to the faculty and subsequently accepting the position of Chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division were all settled with a handshake—and he delivered everything as promised and more. After a stint as Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he returned to the University of North Carolina as professor of clinical medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000.
As a result of these superb academic accomplishments, American Medicine beatified Earley with the presidencies of the American Society for Clinical investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society of Nephrology; along the way he also was awarded a mastership by the American College of Physicians, served as chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. A natural leader, and for his times, he gracefully elevated all of the organizations he served so well.
What do you say about a complete man; self-made, outwardly shy and uniquely charismatic, academically ambitious, innovative as a scientist, an agile administrator, loved by a close family, and one of the warmest people one could sit with to sort out nearly every kind of problem. A clever and shrewd politician, in times of academic turmoil he remained an ever gifted, guiding hand. A true gentleman, Earley radiated great emotional intelligence with exceptional qualities of aequanimitas and fairness. These gifts he infected on all who were susceptible, adding a new level of civility to university life.
While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair, at Yellowstone National Park where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, PA, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, and photography. His cherished memory is closely held by his adorable wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. His sons Andrew and Geoffrey predeceased him.
Obituary from the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and www.jasn.org:
With the passing of Laurence E. Earley (January 23, 1931–March 13, 2012), American medicine has lost an outstanding academic leader. Earley was truly a gentleman and scholar as befits a son of North Carolina. He was a page in the U.S. House of Representatives as a teenager, present for addresses to joint sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He also was in the House chamber when General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, five weeks after World War II ended in Europe. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, then attended medical school at the same institution. He received the Isaac W. Manning Award as the outstanding member of his senior class. Larry Earley received his training in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Services at Boston City Hospital. He pursued research training in kidney diseases and physiology at the National Institutes of Health. After this training Larry was recruited as a junior faculty member to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. With an exceptional early research record in renal hemodynamics, he was recruited to be Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country. I was very fortunate to have been a member of his renal faculty in San Francisco. Larry was an extremely intelligent and scholarly leader who had exceptional personal qualities of integrity and fairness. On the background of his academic leadership and accomplishments as a Division Chief in San Francisco, he was recruited to be the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Services Center in San Antonio. In that position from 1973 to 1977, Larry enhanced the academic mission of the department and the school. From 1977 to 1990, Larry was Chair of the Department ofMedicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine. He was Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1987 to 1995. In 1995 Larry returned to the University of North Carolina as Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000. Throughout Larry Earley's distinguished career, he continued to provide leadership in nephrology nationally and internationally. He was elected a Councilor of the International Society of Nephrology and President of the American Society of Nephrology. The senior academic medical society in the United States is the Association of American Physicians. Larry Earley was elected President of that important academic organization. He was chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine and was elected aMaster of the American College of Physicians. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair Earley, at Yellowstone National Park, where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, photography, and his family. He is survived by his lovely wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr. and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. He was predeceased by his sons Andrew and Geoffrey.∼A year ago, at 81 years of age, Larry Earley passed into that pantheon of distinguished academic physicians and we lost one of the great nephrologists of the 20th Century.
A native of Ahoskie, NC, Earley began his formative career as a page in the United States House of Representatives. He was present for addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and also was in chamber of the House of Representatives when General Dwight Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, 5 weeks after World War II ended in Europe.
Earley later earned his bachelor and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina, obtained a residency in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital, and then completed 2 years of training in kidney disease and physiology with Jack Orloff at the National Institutes of Health. He subsequently returned to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital to launch his career as an assistant professor of medicine.
Although it seems surprising today, there was a time not too long ago when very little was known about the inner workings of the kidney. Earley and his generation changed all that. His major contribution to renal medicine was uncovering how much of the nephron handles sodium chloride—one of the most important achievements in renal science of the last century. Earley was also one of the first to suggest that hemodynamic changes in proximal reabsorption of sodium might explain the retention of sodium chloride in medical disorders where there is edema formation. These concepts helped establish an early coherent view of how each of us regulates body salt in health and disease, and for a good many years he was a leading authority on natriuresis.
With this exceptional research record in studying renal hemodynamics, Earley was recruited in 1968 by Holly Smith to be founding chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position, with Isidore Edelman and Marilyn Farquhar as colleagues in other departments, he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country, recruiting such luminaries at Barry Brenner and Robert Schrier.
On this background of leadership and accomplishment, Earley was recruited in 1973 to chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. In 1977, he was appointed the Frank Wister Thomas professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine.
While at Penn, Earley rebuilt much of the department into a celebrated entity; he offered me my first academic appointment as a young assistant professor and, in 1989, began my mentorship as chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, and we became friends. To know him, waggish people might think he was born an adult, but he actually had great impish humor among his closest colleagues. He lived by the simple belief that integrity was paramount to everything else in life and principles only meant something at moments of great inconvenience; my first appointment to the faculty and subsequently accepting the position of Chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division were all settled with a handshake—and he delivered everything as promised and more. After a stint as Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he returned to the University of North Carolina as professor of clinical medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000.
As a result of these superb academic accomplishments, American Medicine beatified Earley with the presidencies of the American Society for Clinical investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society of Nephrology; along the way he also was awarded a mastership by the American College of Physicians, served as chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. A natural leader, and for his times, he gracefully elevated all of the organizations he served so well.
What do you say about a complete man; self-made, outwardly shy and uniquely charismatic, academically ambitious, innovative as a scientist, an agile administrator, loved by a close family, and one of the warmest people one could sit with to sort out nearly every kind of problem. A clever and shrewd politician, in times of academic turmoil he remained an ever gifted, guiding hand. A true gentleman, Earley radiated great emotional intelligence with exceptional qualities of aequanimitas and fairness. These gifts he infected on all who were susceptible, adding a new level of civility to university life.
While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair, at Yellowstone National Park where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, PA, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, and photography. His cherished memory is closely held by his adorable wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. His sons Andrew and Geoffrey predeceased him.
With the passing of Laurence E. Earley (January 23, 1931–March 13, 2012), American medicine has lost an outstanding academic leader. Earley was truly a gentleman and scholar as befits a son of North Carolina. He was a page in the U.S. House of Representatives as a teenager, present for addresses to joint sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He also was in the House chamber when General Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, five weeks after World War II ended in Europe. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, then attended medical school at the same institution. He received the Isaac W. Manning Award as the outstanding member of his senior class. Larry Earley received his training in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Services at Boston City Hospital. He pursued research training in kidney diseases and physiology at the National Institutes of Health. After this training Larry was recruited as a junior faculty member to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. With an exceptional early research record in renal hemodynamics, he was recruited to be Chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country. I was very fortunate to have been a member of his renal faculty in San Francisco. Larry was an extremely intelligent and scholarly leader who had exceptional personal qualities of integrity and fairness. On the background of his academic leadership and accomplishments as a Division Chief in San Francisco, he was recruited to be the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Services Center in San Antonio. In that position from 1973 to 1977, Larry enhanced the academic mission of the department and the school. From 1977 to 1990, Larry was Chair of the Department ofMedicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine. He was Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1987 to 1995. In 1995 Larry returned to the University of North Carolina as Professor of Clinical Medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000. Throughout Larry Earley's distinguished career, he continued to provide leadership in nephrology nationally and internationally. He was elected a Councilor of the International Society of Nephrology and President of the American Society of Nephrology. The senior academic medical society in the United States is the Association of American Physicians. Larry Earley was elected President of that important academic organization. He was chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine and was elected aMaster of the American College of Physicians. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair Earley, at Yellowstone National Park, where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, photography, and his family. He is survived by his lovely wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr. and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. He was predeceased by his sons Andrew and Geoffrey.∼A year ago, at 81 years of age, Larry Earley passed into that pantheon of distinguished academic physicians and we lost one of the great nephrologists of the 20th Century.
A native of Ahoskie, NC, Earley began his formative career as a page in the United States House of Representatives. He was present for addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, and also was in chamber of the House of Representatives when General Dwight Eisenhower addressed Congress in June 1945, 5 weeks after World War II ended in Europe.
Earley later earned his bachelor and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina, obtained a residency in internal medicine on the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital, and then completed 2 years of training in kidney disease and physiology with Jack Orloff at the National Institutes of Health. He subsequently returned to the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital to launch his career as an assistant professor of medicine.
Although it seems surprising today, there was a time not too long ago when very little was known about the inner workings of the kidney. Earley and his generation changed all that. His major contribution to renal medicine was uncovering how much of the nephron handles sodium chloride—one of the most important achievements in renal science of the last century. Earley was also one of the first to suggest that hemodynamic changes in proximal reabsorption of sodium might explain the retention of sodium chloride in medical disorders where there is edema formation. These concepts helped establish an early coherent view of how each of us regulates body salt in health and disease, and for a good many years he was a leading authority on natriuresis.
With this exceptional research record in studying renal hemodynamics, Earley was recruited in 1968 by Holly Smith to be founding chief of the Division of Nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. In that position, with Isidore Edelman and Marilyn Farquhar as colleagues in other departments, he built one of the finest kidney groups in the country, recruiting such luminaries at Barry Brenner and Robert Schrier.
On this background of leadership and accomplishment, Earley was recruited in 1973 to chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. In 1977, he was appointed the Frank Wister Thomas professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most distinguished positions in all of medicine.
While at Penn, Earley rebuilt much of the department into a celebrated entity; he offered me my first academic appointment as a young assistant professor and, in 1989, began my mentorship as chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, and we became friends. To know him, waggish people might think he was born an adult, but he actually had great impish humor among his closest colleagues. He lived by the simple belief that integrity was paramount to everything else in life and principles only meant something at moments of great inconvenience; my first appointment to the faculty and subsequently accepting the position of Chief of the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division were all settled with a handshake—and he delivered everything as promised and more. After a stint as Senior Associate Dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he returned to the University of North Carolina as professor of clinical medicine, a position he held until he retired in 2000.
As a result of these superb academic accomplishments, American Medicine beatified Earley with the presidencies of the American Society for Clinical investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society of Nephrology; along the way he also was awarded a mastership by the American College of Physicians, served as chairman of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. A natural leader, and for his times, he gracefully elevated all of the organizations he served so well.
What do you say about a complete man; self-made, outwardly shy and uniquely charismatic, academically ambitious, innovative as a scientist, an agile administrator, loved by a close family, and one of the warmest people one could sit with to sort out nearly every kind of problem. A clever and shrewd politician, in times of academic turmoil he remained an ever gifted, guiding hand. A true gentleman, Earley radiated great emotional intelligence with exceptional qualities of aequanimitas and fairness. These gifts he infected on all who were susceptible, adding a new level of civility to university life.
While they were college students, Earley met his future wife, Joanne Sinclair, at Yellowstone National Park where they had summer jobs. They raised their family in Ardmore, PA, and later traveled throughout the world together, enjoying sailing in the Pacific Northwest, the Chesapeake, and the waters off Maine. His other interests outside medicine were woodworking, fishing, and photography. His cherished memory is closely held by his adorable wife of 58 years; his sons, Laurence Jr and Peter; and grandchildren Chris, Alex, Devin, Caroline, Cameron, Timothy, and Daniel. His sons Andrew and Geoffrey predeceased him.
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