Dr. Elbert P. Tuttle Jr. lived to learn. In his last days, he still yearned for knowledge, he still wanted to figure things out, two of his children said.
Dr. Tuttle, an Emory University renal specialist at Grady and Crawford Long hospitals for more than 30 years, was recently diagnosed with cancer.
“In a twist of ironic fate, it was a kidney cancer,” said Beth Tuttle, a daughter who lives in Alexandria, Va. “We were ready to bring hospice care in, and he said, ‘No, I need to get an MRI on my kidney, because I really need to know what is there,’ and we asked what he thought he’d find, and he described, literally, exactly what doctors found. He’d figured it out and diagnosed himself, but he really wanted his diagnosis confirmed.”
Before the diagnosis, Dr. Tuttle’s health began to decline, but not necessarily because of the cancer, his body was just wearing out, she said.
Elbert Parr Tuttle Jr., widely known as “Tut” or “Buddy,” of Atlanta, died Sunday at home of natural causes, his family said. He was 90.
His body was cremated and a memorial service has been planned for 11:30 a.m. April 23 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Atlanta. Grissom-Clark Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Ithaca, N.Y., Dr. Tuttle was the son of noted civil rights arbiter, Judge Elbert Parr Tuttle. Judge Tuttle moved his family to Atlanta in 1923 when his son was a toddler. Dr. Tuttle attended North Fulton High School and graduated in 1938 as the class valedictorian.
In 1942, Dr. Tuttle graduated from Princeton University, where he studied philosophy. His daughter said had he not decided to attend medical school after he got out of the Marines, philosophy might have been his career path.
“He liked nothing more than to sit and think and read and write,” she said. “But after the war, he did make the decision to go to medical school, I think somewhat at his mother’s urging.”
Dr. Tuttle graduated from Harvard University in 1951 with his medical degree. Between graduation and joining the Emory faculty in 1957, Dr. Tuttle married the former Virginia "Ginny" Bauer. The couple was married for 58 years at the time of her death in 2010.
Dr. Tuttle did not open a private practice, but dedicated his career to caring for patients at Grady and Crawford Long hospitals, where he split his time. He was on the faculty at Emory and worked between the hospitals until he retired in 1992, his family said.
“People used to call him the oldest living resident because he spent so much time at the hospital, when other doctors were figuring out how to not spend so much time at the hospital,” Ms. Tuttle said. “He knew the patients and spent time with their families.”
It was through these conversations that he could begin to put pieces of the health puzzle together and figure things out, said Guy Tuttle, a son who lives in Atlanta.
“He could look at a system and say, ‘Here’s what it has to do to make it work,’ and then he would look at what he had and say, ‘Let’s make what I want out of what I have.’”
Dr. John Sadler, a colleague who studied under Dr. Tuttle, said his teacher’s enthusiasm was unmatched.
“He wasn’t interested in the process as much as he was interested in learning something new,” said Dr. Sadler, who now lives in Baltimore. “I’d tease him that he had a disorderly intellect, because his idea would pop into his head faster than we could follow.”
Dr. Sadler said having a discussion with Dr. Tuttle could be daunting because he would bounce from idea to idea, with little explanation of how he got from one point to another.
“He’s sitting there four or five ideas ahead of us, and we’re still trying to grasp the second idea,” Dr. Sadler said with a laugh. “He really was exciting to learn from.”
Additional survivors include daughter, Jane Tuttle of Atlanta; sons, David Tuttle of Atlanta and Richard Tuttle of Hortense; and four grandchildren.
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