Dr. Frederic Kolhouse, an expert in hematology and a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado medical school, died at his home June 17. He was 66.
Kolhouse died from cancer of the esophagus. A celebration of his life is planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 556 S. Jersey St.
Kolhouse, who had been at CU since 1977, was head of CU’s Clinical Cancer Center from 1999 until recently.
Kolhouse was one of those who started a program at CU in which specialists travel to hospitals in rural areas of Colorado and other states. They provide care and consultations for the local doctors and patients, said Andrew Thorburn, interim director for research at the CU cancer center.
The trips cut down on travel to Denver for the patients and give them more options for treatment, Thorburn said.
It also is instructive for the doctors on site. Kolhouse traveled to several western Colorado towns as well as towns in South Dakota and Montana. Until recently, Kolhouse was still making trips a few times a month, Thorburn said.
“Life is much easier for a lot of people because of Dr. Kolhouse,” said Dr. Sally Stabler, a professor of medicine in CU’s hematology department. “He spent a lot of extra time with patients — he wasn’t an assembly-line doctor.”
Kolhouse got high praise from Martha Williams of Denver, whose husband, Wayne Williams, has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“He was brash, funny, concerned and smart,” Martha Williams said. “I know he extended the life of my husband. He was very cutting-edge.”
“He was driven,” said his daughter, Nicole Kolhouse of Aurora.
J. Frederic Kolhouse was born in Vincennes, Ind., on Aug. 15, 1943. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.
He did his residency and earned a fellowship in hematology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He came to CU in 1977 and was a professor of medicine at the time of his death. He was on multiple committees, such as those dealing with tumors and cancer research.
He was co-author of more than 60 publications and spoke at national meetings on medical research. He and others at CU were researching ovarian cancer at the time of his death.
“He was a workaholic who loved medicine and loved helping people,” said his son Ron Kolhouse of Castle Rock.
Kolhouse knew from the time he was a chid that he wanted to be a doctor, said his daughter. He had a “birth trauma,” she said, which left him partially paralyzed on the left side. His dad, who was a farmer, tied the boy’s right arm behind him, forcing him to use his left arm. He eventually improved, but Kolhouse had a lifelong weakness on his left side.
Kolhouse was married to Linda Miller Huffman, and they had three children before divorcing. Later he married Dr. Jennifer Caskey, and they also divorced. In addition to his son and daughter, he is survived by another son, J. Christopher Kolhouse of Centennial, and two grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
