ROBERT BERT FAUS

Robert Bert Faus was born in Boulder, Colorado on November 30, 1897. His parents were Jacob and Catherine Schelling Faus. After attending State Prep School, Bob was graduated from the University of Colorado in 1919 and received his M.D. from Rush Medical College, 1921.

One of Dr. Faus' favorite stories was that while he was a psychiatric intern at Cook County Hospital he saw on the bulletin board a notice saying "Interns and residents wanted in Honolulu." He borrowed the money to send a wire; and in a few days received word that he had been accepted at Queen's Hospital and $250 in passage money from Dr. Paul Withington.

With another loan he sent off a wire to a former classmate, Marie Keim, in Denver: "Will you marry me and go to Honolulu?" Again he was accepted and they were married in Evergreen, Colorado and arrived in Hawaii in July 1921. "Dr. Marie" as she was called, became the first female intern at the Queen's Hospital and "Dr. Bob" joined the housestaff.

The Doctors Faus had three children: Katherine (Mrs. Burton Andrus), Robert, Jr., and an adopted daughter, Lady Marie (Mrs. William Sode).

After completing his residency at Queen's, Dr. Bob went into private practice in 1923. One of his first projects was a survey of the Hawaii Insane Asylum at the request of Governor Farrington. Conditions there were dreadful at that time; and thanks to this report, the Legislature of 1925 appropriated $75,000 for the purchase of land in Kaneohe for a new mental hospital.

From 1925-30 Dr. Faus served as police surgeon, and was one of the pioneers in transfusing blood - starting the ambulatory Blood Bank in 1930. For the following ten years he was City and County Physician, and helped establish the City and County Emergency Unit at Queen's. (This building is now a storage unit at the Miller Street entrance of the Hospital).

Dr. Faus was a member of the Hawaii National Guard from 1922-40, and volunteered for active duty during World War II, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served as Commanding Officer of the 156th General Hospital on Ie Shima, and as Executive Officer of the 165th Station Hospital on Kauai. In 1948 he retired as a Brigadier General.

Among the honors awarded to Dr. Faus was the Bronze Star for outstanding work in establishing civilian aid stations and ambulance service during the December 7, 1941 attack. (A posthumous award was also given him by President Reagan). Some years later Dr. Bob wrote a vivid story of the Pearl Harbor attack for the bulletin of the U.S. Army Medical Department, November 1949, in which he pointed out that the civilian community had made preparations for defense long before the actual attack. Local medical organizations, Honolulu doctors and nurses had set up a disaster plan with eighteen first aid stations in schools throughout the city; while 5,000 persons were trained in first aid. When the "blitz" came, Dr. Faus was on his way to give a lecture he never delivered - on the importance of being prepared for emergencies. For the next three days he supervised the treatment of wounded civilians from the armory near Iolani Palace.

After the war Dr. Bob returned to private practice and served as President of the Honolulu County Medical Society in 1930, and of the Territorial Medical Association in 1947. He was on the staff of many local hospitals and among the honors he received were" "American of the Week", 1952; Hawaii's Father of the Year in Medical and Dental Service, 1961. He was past potentate of the Aloha Masonic Temple; a member of the American Medical Association, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Rho Sigma, Scottish Rite 32nd Degree, York Rite, Knight Templar, Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts of America, University Club, Representatives Club, Mental Hygiene Society, American Legion and Waialae Golf Club.

Both Drs. Faus were extremely community minded. They took active part in many local organizations and their unusual home on Portlock Road was the gathering place for many events, both medical and social. The two-story Japanese style house had been built in Japan, taken apart and loaded onto a freighter. The Japanese crew then reassembled it in Honolulu. In spite of their busy schedules the Fauses were noted for their friendly hospitality and many a weary and lonely intern from Queen's was welcomed at their Sunday morning pancake breakfasts.

Dr. Marie died in 1975 and Dr. Bob married Dee Norfleet. They lived on Aukai Avenue and Dr. Bob took up woodcarving during his retirement years. His main project was the "History of Transportation" which included carving horses, stage coaches, and even a circus wagon, in addition to more modern vehicles. Dr. Bob and Dee traveled a lot - going to Europe, the Orient, etc. but usually ending up in Hong Kong, their favorite spot.

Dr. Bob died on December 13, 1983 at the age of 86.

MARIE KEIM FAUS

Marie Keim Faus was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on August 29, 1896. The daughter of Wallace G. and Minnie Florence (Patton) Keim, she attended Colorado Women's College in 1914, was graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. degree in 1919, and then entered University of Colorado Medical School in Denver.

In 1948 she recalled the effort by some of her medical school instructors to find a loophole for failing her. One instructor informed her he was going to flunk her, but neglected to inform his assistant who gave her a grade of 95 on her bacteriological slides and notebook. When apprised of the situation the assistant asked how he could fail the student with the best work. Her teachers felt that there should not be any mediocre women doctors and that a woman medical student must do 10 percent better work than her male colleagues. Surmounting all her difficulties, she received her M.D. in 1921.

She was interning at St. Anthony's Hospital in Denver when she received a telegram from Dr. Robert Faus, a former fellow student at Colorado Medical School and a psychiatric intern at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, saying, "Will you marry me and go to Honolulu?" They were married in Evergreen, Colorado, in 1921 and arrived in Honolulu in July. "Dr. Marie", as she was known, became the first female intern at the Queen's Hospital, and Dr. "Bob" joined the house staff. The Doctors Faus had three children: Katherine (Mrs. Burton Andrus), Robert B., Jr., and an adopted daughter, Lady Marie (Mrs. William Sode).

"Being an intern at Queen's posed no problems for me. I was used to working with men before I came here, and the interns at Queen's were very nice to me", said Dr. Marie in an interview in 1973. Her reminiscences of the early days at Queen's include descriptions of the maternity section on the second floor where she delivered many babies; the problem of keeping families out of the nursery; and how the night nurse took care of both typhoid cases and newborn babies until Dr. Marie in desperation finally persuaded Dr. Clifford Wood to arrange for an isolation ward. She remembered the mosquito nettings on all the hospital beds, and how patients were wheeled directly from surgery to beds on open lanais (the recovery room came much later) but somehow recovered.

In addition to her work at Queen's, Dr. Marie was appointed the first intern at Kapiolani Maternity Hospital. Having no car, she would take the street car from Queen's to the old hospital on Beretania and Kalakaua. In those days most babies were delivered by midwives, who deeply resented having a young girl come in to tell them what to do, until Dr. Guy Milnor smoothed things over. Dr. Marie was also on the staff of St. Francis and Leeward Oahu hospitals.

After completing her internship at Queen's in 1922, Dr. Marie went into private practice with Dr. Paul Withington, who had an office on Alakea Street and handled mostly industrial cases. She was one of the organizers of the voluntary physician free child health clinics at Palama Settlement in 1922 and continued with this work until 1957. Later she handled health examination programs at Punahou School, the University of Hawaii, and the Territorial State Normal School.

Early in the 1920s Governor Farrington asked Drs. Marie and Bob Faus to conduct a survey of the old State Insane Asylum on School Street. Horrified at the conditions they found, the Fauses were instrumental in getting the Legislature in 1925 to appropriate $75,000 for the purchase of land in Kaneohe for a new mental hospital. Dr. Marie was personally responsible for founding the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, now a branch of the State Health Department. From 1958-1960 she was resident physician at Hawaii State Hospital, and continued to do volunteer work there after her retirement. In 1963 she spent a month at Kalaupapa, Molokai, caring for leprous patients.

Two important honors were given Dr. Marie in 1965 when she was recognized for her many community contributions. Named Woman of the Year by Panhellenic of Hawaii, she was also given the Distinction in Medicine Award from Colorado Women's College.

Dr. Marie was a charter member of the Academy of General Practice (now the Academy of Family Physicians), a life member of the American Medical Association, Hawaii Medical Association, and the Honolulu County Medical Society. She was a founder of the Portlock Community Association, a charter member of Zonta Club of Honolulu, a member of the Women's Committee of the Honolulu Symphony, Morning Music Club, Delta Delta Delta Sorority, American Association of University Women, the Outrigger Canoe Club, and Central Union Church.

Dr. Marie retired in 1966 from private practice, and died on September 16, 1975, at the age of 79.