John Campbell
OBITUARY
Dr. John Brooks Campbell died on Saturday, August 30th of pancreatic cancer. He was born in 1947 in Seminole, Oklahoma, the first-born son of Jack and Dorothy Campbell. As the child of an oilfield engineer who was transferred frequently, John attended twelve schools by the time he graduated from high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He joined the Navy during the Vietnam era, attending the Navy electronics school in San Diego before he was deployed on submarines and submarine tenders as a electronics technician. Upon release from active duty he attended the University of Oklahoma and after three years of study, he was accepted by the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. Upon graduation, he returned to San Diego, where he had left his heart many years earlier, and completed his pathology internship at the University of California San Diego. John resided in San Diego until his death.
John started his own pathology lab, Pacific Pathology Inc, soon after he finished his pathology internship. He continued to run the pathology lab until his passing and considered his staff there as extended family. He also was in the Naval Reserve in San Diego for 15 years as a Commander (O-5). Besides his business, John was integral in the dermatology community of Mohs surgeons, doing both consulting work and QA evaluation of Mohs cases. He gave lectures at the Mohs conferences and taught locally, lecturing and running small group presentations promoting interactive discussion. He is described by his contemporaries as a meticulous pathologist and an innovator in the way he approached Mohs surgery.
Married twice, John was the father of three much-loved children- Jeff, Charles and Brooke. He volunteered generously in their school-related activities and continued volunteering with the Gateways Summer School program long after their graduations. John was an active guy – an avid advocate of physical activity, at the gym or swimming and biking. He was also very social, having a years-long standing Thursday night dinner with the “YMCA guys”, going with friends to wine tasting, seeing the Pageant of the Masters and camping, among many other activities.
John is survived by his children, ex-wives Suzanne Clark and Amalia S. Campbell, three siblings, six nieces/nephews, seven cousins and innumerable treasured friends. A celebration of life party will be forthcoming. The family wishes to recognize the tender hospice care provided by Suncrest Hospice and Amalia S. Campbell.