Dr. Dorothy Villee, 79; studied accelerated aging disease
Dr. Dorothy (Balzer) Villee was a physician who didn't shy away from challenging cases. "She had a gift for helping people with difficult things," said her daughter, Suzanne C. of Mansfield.
Dr. Villee, an associate in endocrinology at Children's Hospital in Boston for nearly 30 years who volunteered with patients in their final days at Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod, died of a stroke April 23 in Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She was 79.
"She was a great pediatric clinical endocrinologist with expertise in human development endocrinology," said Dr. John F. Crigler , chief of endocrinology emeritus at Children's Hospital.
Dr. Villee had a particular interest in progeria , a rare disease that accelerates aging and normally kills its victims when they are in their teens.
"By the time they reach their early teens, they look as if they're in their 90s," Dr. Villee said in a story published in the Globe in 1982.
She said patients usually die by about age 14, most often of atherosclerosis, ordinarily a disease of old age. But she said progeria sufferers differ from the elderly in important ways. For instance, they do not grow senile and generally do not show signs of brain degeneration characteristic of extreme old age.
Her daughter said Dr. Villee once appeared on Phil Donahue's television show to discuss the disease.
An associate in endocrinology at Children's Hospital from 1974 to 2003, she was coauthor of the textbook "Human Endocrinology: a Developmental Approach," published in 1974.
"She was a very dedicated person and easy to work with," said Crigler. "She also did highly regarded work in steroid chemistry with her husband, who was a biologist at Harvard."
She was married for 50 years to Claude A. Villee Jr. , who died in 2003.
One of seven children of a Coast Guard commander, Dr. Villee was born in Charleston, S.C., but moved frequently as a child. She worked her way through Barnard College and Harvard Medical School as a hairdresser and in jobs including cleaning test tubes and lab equipment.
"She came from a large family, and money was tight," said her daughter. "Nothing was given to her. She had to work hard to get through school."
She had a summer home in Falmouth, and became a full-time resident of the town in 1987. She maintained a private practice in pediatric endocrinology and was affiliated with the practice of Lowe, Shea and Tierney in Falmouth for several years.
"She didn't just settle in and relax in her retirement. She was curious and she was energetic and now she had time for things other than work," said her daughter.
For two years she was treasurer of the Falmouth Historical Commission. "She was intellectual and introverted, but she knew how to chair a meeting," said her daughter.
She did volunteer work at the Samaritans of Cape Cod and the Islands in addition to the Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod because "she wanted to give back to the community," said her daughter.
Dr. Villee made frequent trips to Boston and New York to attend performances of the ballet, symphony, and musical theater, and was a season-ticket holder to the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth.
She was particularly fond of Italian opera and studied the language. "In the beginning she just wanted to learn the librettos, but she fell in love with the language and the culture and made several trips to the country," said her daughter.
In addition to her daughter, she leaves three sons, Claude A. III of Chelmsford, Stephen E.F. of Berlin, N.H., and Charles A. of South Grafton; two sisters, Barbara Tancreto of Dennis and Alice Donohue of Greenbelt, Md.; and three grandchildren.
In accordance with Dr. Villee's wishes, there will be no public funeral service.
