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GENERATIONAL
PERSPECTIVES
Photos clockwise from above:
Irving and Joan Ratner at their wedding
Living first generation medical family members in mid 2000s: Standing:
(Aunt) Betty Levitt, RN, (Uncle) Herbert P. Brown, MD, (Aunt) Sylvia
Brown, RN. Seated: (Mom) Joan J. Ratner, PhD, (Dad) Irving A. Ratner,
MD
Dr. Irving A. Ratner and Myrna Talamontez, RN in the first specialized
pediatric OR in San Antonio at Santa Rosa Childrens Hospital
to medical school and trained as a surgeon while she worked in med- and dental hygienists who now practice in South Central Texas.
ical laboratories. They traveled through Europe, Newfoundland and Mom was a pioneer and a role model for many women after fac-
Randolph Air Force Base courtesy of Dad's surgical fellowships and
the U.S. Air Force. ing and fighting discrimination. After learning that she was going
to get her Ph.D., she was criticized by both friends and acquain-
After a particularly bad winter in Boston, Dad was recruited to tances for damaging the futures of her children and not supporting
move to San Antonio by Dr. Howard Britton, bringing Mom, her her busy husband by going back to school. At the same time, Dad
mother, Sadie, and me (at the age of about 18 months). Mom was was challenged by friends and colleagues who would ask how he
pregnant with my sister Emily during the move from Boston to San could "allow" his wife to go back to school. Both Dad and Mom
Antonio. While raising the children, Mom worked part-time at what stood together. It's hard to imagine now, but times were very differ-
was previously called Southwest Foundation (where the baboons on ent four decades ago.
Loop 410 lived).
Mom mentored many younger women in science and was the
When Emily and I were in middle school, Mom decided that she founding president of the Women’s Faculty Association at UTH-
wanted to advance her academic training. She enrolled in a masters SCSA. After a quarter century of teaching at UT, she retired and
of science program at Trinity University. While still working and rais- went to work part-time in Dad's Pediatric Surgery practice. She
ing us, she received her master’s degree after four years. She then en- worked there until Dad passed away, roughly three years later.
rolled at UTHSCSA (now UT Health San Antonio) and received her
PhD in microbiology at the age of 50. Mom, now Dr. Ratner, went Mom was one of the co-founders of The Patient Institute, a non-
on to teach and research in the Department of Microbiology at UT profit organization founded in honor and memory of Dad and his
Health San Antonio for the next quarter century. She helped teach dedication to his patients and their families. She continues to sup-
microbiology to a significant proportion of the physicians, dentists port the organization and still attends the board and executive com-
mittee meetings — a dedicated leader to this day.
Continued on page 18
visit us at www.bcms.org 17
