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<p>Dr. <em>Gordon Stuart Livingston</em> was born in Memphis, TN in 1938 and was raised in upstate New York. He attended the U.S. Military Academy and upon graduation in 1960 as an Infantry officer was trained as a parachutist and an Army Ranger. He served for two years in the 82nd Airborne Division before attending medical school at Johns Hopkins, from which he graduated in 1967. He interned at Walter Reed General Hospital before volunteering for Vietnam, where he served as the regimental surgeon for the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He was awarded the Bronze Star for valor in recognition of acts of bravery during his service. While in Vietnam he registered a public protest against the war during an Easter Sunday change-of-command ceremony and subsequently left the Army.</p>
<p>Needless to say, Gordon’s actions in Vietnam and subsequent testimony against the war alienated many fellow officers and some classmates. The reaction was often reflexively violent. Gordon knew that this would happen but acted on his conscience, knowing that time and reflection would eventually quell the turmoil. And today, his courage and moral outrage are understood, as are his intelligence and creative talents, even though many regret the intensity of his censure.</p>
<p>After leaving the service, Dr. Livingston trained in adult and child psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, where he served as a part-time assistant professor. He lived in Columbia, MD for 44 years and was chief of psychiatry for 34 years at the Columbia Medical Plan. He practiced at Crossroads Psychological Associates in Columbia until his death in 2016. </p>
<p>He was a parent twice bereaved, and his first book, Only Spring, described the unfathomable tragedy of the death from leukemia of his six-year-old son, Lucas. It recounts Gordon’s painful journey from devastating loss to a transformative understanding of dealing with loss. He is the author of the bestseller <em>Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart</em> (2004), which has been translated into 22 languages. It records his leap of courage in Vietnam that carried him far beyond the acts that won him a Bronze Star. His more recent books focused on the subjects of love, fear and courage, including <em>And Never Stop Dancing</em> (2006), <em>How to Love</em> (2009), and <em>The Thing You Think You Cannot Do</em> (2012). His writing appeared in a variety of magazines and newspapers, including<em> Reader’s Digest</em>, the <em>San Francisco Examiner</em>, the <em>Washington Post</em>, and the <em>Baltimore Sun</em>. </p>
<p>Dr. Livingston understood that morality and ethics transcended all human enterprise and informed everything he professed and would become. In his final years, he participated in discussions with West Point cadets as part of their education in the Professional Military Ethic and was one of the most sought-after members of the USMA Class of 1960 who participated in those discussion seminars. It is safe to say no cadet left his discussions without a deeper knowledge and sense of moral and ethical obligations of soldiers and their leaders.</p>
<p>In addition to practicing medicine and writing, Dr. Livingston was also a true Renaissance man. He became a licensed pilot, marathon runner, sailor, skier, and avid golfer. Over the years in Columbia, he owned and operated his own tree removal and snow plowing businesses. In 2015, he became an ordained minister and presided over his daughter Emily’s wedding. </p>
<p>He established a memorial fund for families whose children are patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The fund pays for a family stay at a downtown Baltimore hotel and their transportation to the hospital.</p>
<p>Dr. Gordon Stuart Livingston, soldier, noted psychiatrist and best-selling author, died on March 16, 2016 in Columbia, surrounded by his wife and children. </p>
<p>Those who attended his 2016 memorial service were struck by its nearly total focus on his Army career. The photograph on the cover of the memorial program was his West Point First Class portrait in a full-dress cadet sergeant uniform, his favorite remembrance of himself. His tombstone is engraved with “Major Gordon S. Livingston” and “Bronze Star,” with no mention of “Doctor Livingston.” Whatever he was in life, Dr. Livingstone wanted to be remembered as a soldier, prouder in eternity of his service to his country than he was of any of his other myriad accomplishments as a doctor or best-selling author.</p>
<p>Dr. Livingston is survived by his wife, Clare Vickers King; his children: Kirsten Elizabeth Livingston, Nina Stuart Livingston, Michael Chin Livingston, and Emily King Livingston; and his grandchildren: Tatiana Elizabeth Perez, Karl Livingston Brooks, Felipe Andres Perez, Colin Edward Hague and Miles Livingston Hague. He was predeceased by his sons Andrew Lowry Livingston and Lucas Scott Livingston.</p>
<p><em>— With utmost respect by classmates: Irving Lerch, Frank Partlow, Frank Cloutier, and Charley Otstott</em></p>
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