Individual Details

Posted at findagrave.com: Dr. Elizabeth Kirk Rose, a pioneer in women's medicine and Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania, died Feb. 23, 2008, in Kendal at Longwood, Kennett Square, Pa., where she had been a resident for 27 years. She was 106. Dr. Rose was born May 25, 1901, in New Castle. Raised in New Castle, she was one of five children of Howard M. and Elizabeth Raney Kirk. After graduating from New Castle High School in 1919, she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where she received a Phi Beta Kappa award along with her bachelor of arts degree in 1923, and completed one year of her medical studies before returning to Philadelphia. Her distinguished and trail-blazing career in medicine continued at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where she graduated in 1926 and was the oldest living alumnus of the university upon her death. She completed a two-year internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was the only woman among 28 hospital house staff. At the end of her internship, she married her colleague, Dr. Edward Rose, on July 6, 1929, and then completed a year of residency at Children's Hospital when it was located at 18th and Bainbridge. For two decades Dr. Rose was a practicing pediatrician on the staff of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the faculty at the School of Medicine. She also served on the staff of both Children's and Presbyterian hospitals as well as Children's Hospital of the Mary Drexel Home, the Webster Street Settlement House Well Baby Clinic, the Philadelphia Marriage Council and Women's Medical College. In 1950 she was appointed by Mayor Joseph Clark to head the Division of Maternal and Child Health at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In 1956 she returned to the University of Pennsylvania and accepted a teaching position in the Department of Community Health, where she helped lay the groundwork for involving medical students and residents in community-based learning and outreach. As Dr. Rose ascended the ranks as a faculty member and managed a busy medical practice, she raised two sons, William and Edward. Her marriage and professional association with Dr. Edward Rose were sources of great joy and inspiration to her. In 1974, the Roses retired from their respective practices and faculty positions at Penn and enjoyed their family, gardening and travel. Dr. Rose preceded his wife in death in 1987. Always a champion for women taking their rightful place in the male-dominated world of medicine, Dr. Rose started holding picnics for female medical students and alumna of the medical school in 1962. This evolved into the Elizabeth Kirk Rose Women in Medicine Dinner, an annual event to celebrate Dr. Rose and her influence on the field of medicine, and to bring medical school alumna back to campus to advise and mentor female medical students. In addition to mentoring medical students, Dr. Rose's ties to her medical alma mater stretched over her lifetime. She served as secretary to the class of 1926 until her death and was granted the medical school's highest honor, the Distinguished Graduate Award, along with her husband, in 1983. Dr. Rose was active in many professional and civic organizations during her lifetime. At various times she served on the boards of the Philadelphia United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Curative Workshop at the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Pediatric Society, the Alumnae Association of the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia-Camden Social Service Exchange, the Mulberry Tree Nursery School, the Shut-In Society, Philadelphia Youth Hostel Association and the Wynnewood Civic Association. Other memberships include the University of Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Commission; the Women's Faculty Club, of which she was president from 1968 to 1970; the Philadelphia County Medical Society; the American Medical Association; the Philadelphia College of Physicians; the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pennsylvania Public Health Association.In 1993, Dr. Rose was awarded the Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania Award, established in 1948 by then-Gov. John H. Duff to honor outstanding women throughout the commonwealth in recognition of their leadership and contributions to the state. She was a member of Ardmore First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Rose is survived by sons Edward and William, and two grandchildren.

New Castle News, 03/28/2008.

Birth	25 May 1901	New Castle, Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania
Marriage	6 Jul 1929	Edward Rose
Death	23 Feb 2008	Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pennsylvania
Burial		Longwood Cemetery, Kennett Square, Chester Co., Pennsylvania

Spouse

Edward Rose (1889 - 1987)

Father	Howard Manning Kirk (1868 - 1952)
Mother	Elizabeth Raney (1875 - 1950)
Sibling	Helen Raney Kirk (1900 - 1990)
Sibling	Leander Raney Kirk (1903 - 1955)
Sibling	Howard Manning Kirk Jr. (1905 - 1997)
Sibling	William Henry Kirk (1909 - 2001)