In 1959, Clyde Flory Jr., MD, made the journey from Baltimore to Detroit to embark on his internship, residency, and fellowship in allergy and immunology at Henry Ford Hospital. That move would change his life. During his residency, he met Karen, the future Mrs. Flory, a registered nurse and native Michigander. Flory recalls after their meeting that he knew Michigan was going to be home.
“We are now celebrating our 61st wedding anniversary,” he says. “My education at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine opened doors for me both professionally and socially, throughout my 65 years and counting in Michigan.”
Clyde’s medical career took the Florys to Lansing, Michigan, where he worked in private practice for 42 years and taught at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He retired in 2005. Karen worked as a nurse with the East Lansing School District for 20 years prior to her retirement.
The Florys have been dedicated to advancing health care, and it’s why they have remained committed to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Most recently, they established a charitable gift annuity (CGA) to create the Dr. Clyde Flory Jr. and Karen Flory Scholarship.
“We want to enable the best students to be able to afford a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine education,” says Clyde. “Johns Hopkins has a worldwide reputation of continuing excellence in cutting-edge research, education of medical students, doctors, and patient care.”
A CGA provides guaranteed income and potential tax savings to donors and supports the future needs of Johns Hopkins. The Florys established their CGA through a one-time distribution from their IRAs, a unique way to give for individuals who are 70 ½ and older.
“It gave us the opportunity to complete our funding of our chosen amount for our scholarship,” explains Clyde. “In return, Johns Hopkins rewards us for our early deposit and commitment.”
It’s all about opening doors for the next generation of health care professionals, underscores Karen. “All I ever wanted to do was be a nurse. I’ve always enjoyed working with people.”
“Karen was born to be a nurse,” echoes Clyde.
In addition to their giving, the Florys also venture back to the School of Medicine campus. This past spring, they drove to Baltimore to attend Clyde’s 65th class reunion. The event brought back memories for Clyde as he toured campus and watched lab demonstrations. He reminisced about studying nightly at the Welch Medical Library until closing and then into the early hours in his room.
“On revisiting Hurd Hall, I recalled my CPC presentation one Saturday morning to a Johns Hopkins senior staff physician, before a packed auditorium when I was a near-petrified medical student,” he says. “This year there were four of us from the class of 1959 at the reunion. It was meaningful.”
The Florys’ visit to Maryland wasn’t the only memorable highlight of their trip. “We met our first great-grandchild on our way home,” they share. “We have three sons, six grandchildren, and our one great-grandchild.”
As Clyde reflects on his career, he says his passion for health care and the philosophy of giving back was instilled in him at a young age. He accentuates its relationship to the forced frugality of the years of the Great Depression and World War II.
“I’m old enough to have experienced those events and how they altered lifestyles,” he says. “It’s an emphasis of gratitude for what we had and a reason to share with others.”
Clyde says his greatest accomplishment is his family, and professionally it was passing a law through the Michigan Legislature focused on increasing the availability of adrenaline and training in the treatment of anaphylactic shock on all 911 emergency vehicles. After three years of Clyde’s statewide research, presentations, and persistence, the bill passed unanimously. Governor Jennifer Granholm even handed Clyde one of her signing pens.
“I’ve been president of different medical organizations throughout my career, but nothing is equivalent to getting that bill passed, which affects about 200,000 Michiganders,” Clyde says.
Outside of those career moments, Clyde stresses you never know where your adventure is going to lead you.
“From Hopkins, I thought I would be heading to the Rocky Mountain states. But lo and behold, I met this RN at Ford Hospital who convinced me to stay,” he says. “I felt there would be a great future thanks to Hopkins. I’ve spent my lifetime in medicine; it’s been impactful. It all has worked out wonderfully well for me.”
This story first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2024 edition of Planning Matters.
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Topics: Alumni, Friends of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, School of Medicine, Promote and Protect Health, Support Scholars