Dr. Thomas Medwick

On Tuesday, May 12, Thomas Medwick, a well known Rutgers Pharmacy professor, passed away at the age of 90.

Dr. Medwick was born on October 15, 1929 in Jersey City, NJ.  Until his recent move to Clifton, he was a life-long resident of Jersey City.  He received his undergraduate degree and masters from Rutgers University.  He attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned his Ph.D in 1958.  He worked up the ranks of academia, serving as Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Rutgers University from 1979 to 1994.  He retired as Professor Emeritus in 1998 and was later awarded Alumnus of the Year.  His many research accomplishments led him to co-author the textbook, “Modern Inorganic Pharmaceutical Chemistry”. He also served as standards advisor to The FDA and The USP. For many pharmacists in NJ, Dr. Medwick was one of the most memorable professors at Rutgers.  Both undergraduate and graduate students recall him to be demanding, but also an outstanding, effective, and caring teacher.  He has been described by faculty at Rutgers as a “defining presence in our school’s history”. He worked to instill in students impeccable integrity and professionalism. His teaching emphasized the privilege and responsibility of serving the public as a pharmacist.

Thomas was preceded in death by his brother, Walter and his wife Betty, his sister Helen, his cousins Walter Cekleniak, Dorothy Morel and her husband Leo.  He is survived by his friend Veronica De Azevedo and her son Josiah, his cousin by marriage, Jean Cekleniak and his goddaughters Natalie and Julie Cekleniak, his friends Nancy Chang, Jason LePree, Cordell Waugh, Charles Fiddis and Gerard Santoro.

Funeral services are private, in the care of the Galante Funeral Home in Union.