Funeral services were held May 30 in Omaha for Mary Ann “Maisie” Paustian, wife of Fred Paustian, M.D., a legendary gastroenterologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Maisie Paustian, 78, died May 25 at Brookestone nursing home from complications of diabetes and multiple strokes. The couple had been married for more than 53 years.
Maisie and Dr. Paustian were honored by UNMC last October when their longtime friends, Ruth and Bill Scott of Omaha, made a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to honor the Paustians.
The gift designated that the two primary amphitheaters in the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education will be named in honor of the Paustians. They will be called the Frederick F. Paustian, M.D. Amphitheater and the Mary Ann “Maisie” Paustian Amphitheater.
In addition, one-half of a floor in the soon-to-be-constructed second research tower will be named the Frederick F. Paustian, M.D., Gastroenterology Research Laboratories.
The Sorrell Center is scheduled for completion in April 2008, and the second research tower should be completed later in 2008 or early in 2009.
A native of Lincoln and a 1948 graduate of Lincoln High School, Maisie attended the Junior College of William Woods (now William Woods University) in Fulton, Mo., before graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1952. She worked for three years as a first-grade school teacher in Omaha and Philadelphia before stepping down to stay home with her children.
A 1953 medical school graduate of UNMC, Dr. Paustian did his internship, internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Graduate Hospital, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After five years in Philadelphia, he was recruited back to UNMC in 1958 to become the first specialty-trained gastroenterologist in Nebraska.
Under Dr. Paustian’s direction, gastroenterology soon became one of UNMC’s leading centers of excellence. In 1985, the liver transplant team was recruited to UNMC, thanks in large part to the expertise in UNMC’s gastroenterology program.
Dr. Paustian worked long hours to build UNMC’s GI program. Meanwhile, Maisie took care of the home front.
“Maisie was the backbone of our family,” Dr. Paustian said. “She was a stalwart in terms of support. She maintained the home and took care of our four children, which allowed me to make the commitment to medicine.”
John Niemann, Ed.D., senior vice president for the University of Nebraska Foundation echoed Dr. Paustian’s comment: “Maisie’s life was supporting Dr. Paustian and raising four very successful children….mission accomplished with grace and an ever-present smile and outlook.”
In addition to her husband, Maisie Paustian is survived by: two daughters and their husbands, Cheryl (Rob) Robinson, Elkhorn, Neb., and Lynn (Rick) Watson, Littleton, Colo; two sons and their wives, James (Ann) Paustian, Renton, Wash., and John (Stephanie) Paustian, Omaha; two brothers; and eight grandchildren.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources is now nearly $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes more than 460 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.