ROOS, John Christian

Roseburg National Cemetery, Roseburg, Oregon

ROOS, John Christian (1889-1980)

roosior'um: named for Dr. Alfred Raphael Roos (1889-1980), his son Dr. John Christian Roos (1918-2008) and Lucille J. Parks Roos (Mrs. John Christian Roos) (1922-2018). From an article in the L.A. Times 10/13/1980 entitled "Doctor Wore Out Two Cars Seeking Causes of Allergies": "In another time and another place, Alfred Roos might have accepted chickens and eggs for his medical services in the great country-doctor tradition. He didn't, however, because chickens in the early 1920s in Southern California were rapidly being displaced by homes and factories. What Dr. Roos did do was donate tens of thousands of hours and what could have been millions of dollars in income to fighting allergies in children. Hailed by his colleagues at a 1955 tribute as a 'giant of goodness.' the devout Seventh-day Adventist continued nearly to the time of his death Oct. 6 at age 91 to give of his services. Interviewed in 1970 when he was 'only' 81, Roos talked of the years he had spent at California and White Memorial Hospitals, where a memorial service will be held for him today. Roos came relatively late to medicine. He entered Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1913, when he was 24. Earlier he had 'taught botany and it was that avocation which moved him to become one of the first men in medicine to pursue a link between pollens and allergies.' After reading a textbook on bacteriology and immunology, he began to theorize that pollen extracts could be used to protect people with allergies. That hypothesis was to take him across the United States to collect pollens from which he distilled his own extracts. He tested those extracts by pricking the top layer of skin on a patient's arm to see what reactions developed. If a slight swelling showed, Roos then knew that the patient was allergic to grass or bark or pollen. The next step was treatment with dilutions of the extract to build an immunity. Fifteen years, two cars and 150,000 miles later Roos had finished his basic research in which he made more than 100,000 skin tests. Out of his work grew the allergy clinic at White Memorial which he founded and where he even lived in the later years of his life, continuing his volunteer efforts for community children. Allergies, he told an interviewer, remained an elusive target throughtout his life. He liked to tell of the 'brain tumor' victim referred to him by doctors who had made a diagnosis but couldn't locate her tumor. Roos found it was the grass and desert pollens near her home that made her blind and mute for days at a time, not the hypothetical tumor that had been diagnosed. Roos saw young asthmatic victims grow to become track stars through his treatments and more than four decades ago was one of the first scientists to determine that non-smokers in close proximity to smokers could also suffer respiratory ailments. At 6-foot, 4-inches Roos was an imposing figure who until a few years ago was still working 50 and 60 hours, six days a week. 'I have not yet become accustomed to the 40-hour week,' he said then. Besides, he said, 'I never think of the time. The work is so rewarding.' He was also a member of the Samuel B. Parish Botanical Society of Southern California and author of a book on a botanical survey of Southern California showing the distribution of plants of allergic importance and their extensions throughout the Pacific Southwest, 1938." John Christian Roos was born in Los Angeles and got his BA at Pacific Union College in 1941 and his MD in 1944 at the College of Medical Evangelists (later to become Loma Linda University). His specialties were human pathologic anatomy, taxonomic botany and plant exploration, and he had a particular interest in and spent a lot of time botanizing in the White and Inyo Mountains. His wife Lucille graduated from Pacific Union College in 1943. His write-up on Find-a-Grave says: “Dr. Roos enjoyed nature, plants, camping, back packing and hiking. His special interest was the study of botany, discovering several new species of plants in SE California while on his outdoor explorations. He was still climbing 11,000-foot mountains at the age of 85 and continued his interest of nature at his home after his retirement. Dr. Roos attended La Sierra University and Pacific Union College for his undergraduate studies. He earned his MD degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1944, and then immediately joined the Army as a battalion surgeon in the 540th Field Artillery Battalion. He served in France in World War II. In 1947 he fell in love and married Lucille J. Parks, a nurse at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Dr. Roos specialized in pathology medicine. He practiced in Loma Linda and Hemet, California, and then in Roseburg, Oregon. In Roseburg he practiced at the Douglas Community Hospital, Mercy Medical Center and the Roseburg V.A. Hospital retiring in 1988. He spent many years serving the community as a medical examiner here in Douglas County as well as in California.” The 'orum' ending of the specific epithet is used when there are several people being honored.