Douglas Barton Stevens, 90, of Hopewell Township, died April 24 at the University Medical Center at Princeton, where he was a member of the honorary staff.
Born in Cortland, N.Y., he graduated from Hamilton College in 1939 and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1943. His medical school class, scheduled to finish in June of that year, was accelerated because of the wartime need for doctors. They received their degrees in March and most of the men went immediately into military service.
Dr. Stevens joined the U.S. Navy and in 1944 served as a medical officer aboard a ship that participated in the Normandy invasion. On D-day and many days following they delivered troops and material and evacuated casualties. He liked to recall that they "lost" only two of those several hundred wounded. At war’s end he returned to Columbia and N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital for surgical training and, in 1950, was named chief resident in general surgery. In 1951 he joined the Princeton Medical Group and the staff of Princeton Hospital and remained with them both for 40 years. After retiring from the operating room he continued to work part-time as a surgical consultant at North Princeton Developmental Center until the age of 82.
Among the instruments in the surgical department at the University Medical Center at Princeton is the Stevens pediatric retractor, which Dr. Stevens made because he couldn’t find a manufactured one. A member of the American Littoral Society and Henryville Flyfishers, he also was a member of the Nassau Club and several professional organizations.
Predeceased by his oldest daughter, Pamela, in February, Dr. Stevens is survived by his wife of 35 years, the former Joan Pettitt Fortune; three children from his marriage to the late Mary-Louise Engebretson: Douglas Jr. of Dallas, Pa., Peter G. of Spokane Valley, Wash., and Meridith C. of Princeton; stepchildren Lauretta, Charles and Madeleine Fortune; three daughters-in-law; eight grandchildren; and two nieces.
