Necrology
Joseph Vincent Collea '62
Jul. 10, 1940-Jun. 3, 2022
Joseph Vincent Collea ’62 died in Huntersville, N.C., on June 3, 2022. Born in Utica on Sept. 10, 1940, he came to Hamilton from Thomas R. Proctor High School. A diligent student, he majored in biology in anticipation of a medical career and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
From Hamilton, Joe proceeded to the State University of New York’s Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, completed his medical degree in 1966, and then began a one-year internship in obstetrics and gynecology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1967, he began a five-year residency at the same institution and was appointed chief resident in 1971. In 1972, drafted into the U.S. Army with the rank of major, he was stationed in the U.S. Army Hospital at Camp Zama, a 1,000-bed hospital near Tokyo where he served in the OB-GYN unit, the emergency room, and wherever else his skills were needed.
On one occasion during his overseas tour of duty, Joe attended a large gathering at the American Embassy that included a group of apparently noisy Australians. Among its quieter members was Margaret Elizabeth Golding, a native of Adelaide and employed by her country’s embassy. Displaying American ingenuity on the international stage, Joe managed to get her phone number and a few days later asked her out. They began dating and Joe subsequently proposed. They were married in Tokyo in 1974 and would later have three daughters.
Following his honorable discharge that same year, the Colleas moved to Los Angeles, where Joe began a two-year fellowship in maternal fetal medicine, focusing on high-risk obstetrics, while on the staff of the Los Angeles County Medical Center.
Even as he was completing his own studies, Joe’s academic career in medicine began in 1975, when he became assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Southern California Medical School in Los Angeles, specializing in perinatology. A year later, he was appointed director of the residency training program for two hospitals in LA.
He and his family left the West Coast in 1979 for Washington, D.C., where he accepted an appointment as associate professor of maternal-fetal medicine and director of the residency training program at Georgetown University. Concurrently, he established a private practice and was an attending OB-GYN at Georgetown University Hospital, Columbia Hospital for Women, and Sibley Memorial Hospital.
One of his early achievements was delivering successfully the first sextuplets born in Washington. Other multiple-birth deliveries followed and his association with Georgetown University, during the course of which he rose to professor and director of Georgetown’s Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, continued until his retirement.
During that period, he was principal author of four published papers in his field and co-author of 25 others. He was honored for his work by awards recognizing his teaching, service to Georgetown University, and the high quality of his medical practice.
What spare time he had was devoted to family travel, including returning annually to Australia for one month, though there were times that he had to cut his visit short due to work demands. His family made an annual pilgrimage to New York City to see a Broadway show, went skiing in Colorado and Switzerland, and visited London, Paris, and Hawaii. Joe was fascinated by history, read extensively, and cultivated a strong memory for historical facts.
In 2010, Joe underwent open-heart surgery. His recovery proved difficult, so much so that he was forced to retire the following year. He and Margaret moved to their home in Huntersville, N.C. Sadly, he would later contract Parkinson’s disease and other conditions that ultimately led to his death.
Joe was the only one of his generation of Colleas to graduate from college. Beyond the academic preparation for medicine that he received on the Hill, he also developed great skill at public speaking. He contributed to the Hamilton Fund and served on his class’s reunion gift committee and as a volunteer for the 175th Anniversary Campaign.
Joseph V. Collea is survived by his wife, three daughters, eight grandchildren, and his cousin Roger D’Aprix ’55.
