Lola N. Vassall

Lola N. Vassall
A blurry picture of a young Black woman wearing a collared blouse
Lola N. Vassall, from the 1928 yearbook of Howard University
BornAugust 26, 1906
Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica
DiedSeptember 26, 2002 (aged 96)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Pharmacist, physician

Lola Nydia Vassall (August 26, 1906 – September 26, 2002) was a Jamaican-American physician.

Early life and education

Vassall was born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, the daughter of William Featherstone Vassall and Septina Creary Vassall. She moved to New York City with her family in 1917. Her father and her older sister Lurline helped establish the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing.[1] She graduated from Washington Irving High School,[2] and finished pharmacy school at Howard University in 1932.[3][4] She earned her medical degree at Howard University in 1936.[5]

Career

Vassall served internships at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. and at Harlem Hospital. She had a private practice in New York City.[6][7] After she married in 1950, she worked as a civilian physician at United States Army hospitals in Vienna, Washington, D.C., Monterey, California, and finally at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, California.[8]

Vassall was a charter life member of the Howard University Medical Alumni Association (HUMAA).[9] Her cousin Randall Dudley Bloomfield, also a physician, cited her as an early influence in his career.[10]

Personal life

Vassall became a United States citizen by naturalization in 1939. She married a fellow Howard alumnus and physician, Lindley R. Mordecai, in 1950, in New York City.[6] They divorced in 1970, in San Francisco. She died in 2002, in San Francisco, at the age of 96.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Centennial Celebration of Harlem Hospital School of Nursing". National Museum of African American History & Culture, Community Curation Platform. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  2. ^ "Doctor". Kingston Gleaner. February 18, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. ^ Howard University, The Bison (1928 yearbook).
  4. ^ "Howard U. Gives Degrees to 356". Evening star. 1932-06-11. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Howard Degrees Given Graduates". Evening Star. 1936-06-06. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-02-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Air Force Captain, Wife, Together During Brief Visit". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. 1952-01-10. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Medical Society of the State of New York. Medical Directory of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. New York University. NYU Health Sciences Library. Medical Archives. p. 314.
  8. ^ a b "Lola Nydia Vassall, M.D." SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  9. ^ "Charter Life Members". Howard University Medical Alumni Association (HUMAA). Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  10. ^ Imperato, Pascal James (2014). "Randall Dudley Bloomfield, MD: Physician and Advocate for Disadvantaged Communities". Journal of Community Health. 39 (6): 1029–1031. doi:10.1007/s10900-014-9935-6. ISSN 0094-5145. JSTOR 48715982. PMID 25135843. S2CID 9684821.