Dr. David Hull

David Hull, MD, of West Hartford, died at the age of 59 on Monday, February 11, 2013 at Saint Francis Hospital. Dr. Hull was Emeritus Director of the Hartford Hospital Transplant Program and a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Hull was born and raised in Astoria, NY, the son of the late Robert and Frances Hull. He attended Beloit College where he earned a degree in Special Chemistry Biology, a minor in Studio Art, and met his wife, Connie Donofrio. He attended medical school at University of Florida and completed his residency at Boston University Affiliated Hospitals. He went on to graduate from Tufts University Medical Center Transplant Fellowship Program. In 1987, Dr. Hull began his career in Transplantation and General Surgery at Hartford Hospital and would become Director of Clinical Transplantation at Hartford Hospital in 1998. His career was devoted to care of patients in need of a transplant and endstage organ illnesses. He performed countless surgeries and transplants and authored more than 70 medical publications and abstracts. Dr. Hull taught surgical residents, physician's assistants, and nursing students from John Dempsey Hospital, St. Raphael's Hospital, Waterbury Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, Quinnipiac University, Dartmouth University, Baystate Medical Center and Springfield College. He was a proud member of the New England Surgery Society, Chairman of the Organ Availability Committee of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and recently voted to be a member the UNOS Board of Directors. He also served on numerous local and national committees and boards pertinent to his field. He was a tireless volunteer for such organizations as the American Liver Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation and the LifeChoice OPO. Dr. Hull performed the first laparoscopic living-kidney-donor surgery in New England. He won numerous teaching and professional awards including the American Liver Foundation's "Physician of the Year", the National Kidney Foundation's "James P. Colangelo MD Achievement Award", and UCONN Residency Training Program's "Best Teacher" award. In 2009, Dr. Hull accepted an award from the 5th National Learning Congress on behalf of the Hartford Hospital Transplant Program in recognition of their "commitment to increasing the number of lives saved through transplantation." In 2011 after three years of struggling with lymphoma and a bone marrow transplant, Dr. Hull was honored for his 24 years of service at Hartford Hospital and transitioned to Emeritus Director of the transplant program. Aside from his career, David was a fun-loving Renaissance man. He had a great sense of humor and was an adventurist. He loved traveling West with his family experiencing different thrills from whitewater rafting, mountain biking or skiing to backpacking the Teton's and Rockies. One of his utmost enjoyments was relaxing at the beach or walking with his German shepherds in the West Hartford Reservoir. He could shape wood into furniture, weld discarded parts into creative sculptures and rebuild engines. It was only natural that he would work on the ultimate machine, replacing parts in the human body. Later in life he enjoyed photography. He overcame hurdles through determination and a positive outlook. There was no quit in David. A lifelong friend described him "full of heart, having integrity, enthusiasm, compassion, dedication and especially tenacity. Talent, endurance, loyalty, laughter, fun-loving, adventurous, loving and kind, these are just a few of the many outstanding qualities he possessed that immediately come to mind. There are dozens more. Despite his many accomplishments, or maybe because of them, his spirit never changed from his childhood." He succumbed to graft-versus host disease related to the treatment of his lymphoma. Dr. David Hull was truly a remarkable and inspirational man that had extraordinary number of gifts, but it was his love for family, friends and work that influenced us the most. He will be sorely missed. Aside from his wife Connie, he leaves two sons, Jason and Aaron Hull of West Hartford; his daughter Stephanie Hull of NYC; his sister Gail Birs of Loxahatchee, FL; and his dogs Caesar and Titus. He was predeceased by his sister, Beth Hull. A Celebration of his Life will be held at a later date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the LifeChoice Donor Services, 8 Griffin Rd. North, Windsor, CT 06095 The American Liver Foundation (ALF), 127 Washington Ave, North Haven, CT 06473 or The National Kidney Foundation (NKF), 1463 Highland Ave., Cheshire, CT 06410. For information or to leave online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.