Pamela Clauss (17 August 1925 – 5 August 2001) was an Australian pioneering nurse, philanthropist and supporter of historical preservation and the arts. Born as Pamela Heavey in

Longueville, New South Wales Longueville is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, 8 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Lane Cove. Longueville is a small residentia ...

, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, to Alison Maud (née Bennett) and John Aloysius Heavey, a

New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

veteran who had been decorated during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

for bravery in the

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

landing at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

in 1915. She graduated from Sacred Heart College in Kensington, Sydney and went on to attend nursing training at St. Vincent's Hospital, also in Sydney, in 1942. In 1956 following activities in Europe and England she returned to Australia and became a nursing sister in charge of St. Vincent's newly established cardio-thoracic surgical unit. Three years later she went to the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

as part of an exchange-training program, and in 1965 she joined the open-heart surgery team of Dr. Roy H. Clauss (who would become her husband in 1970) and Dr. George Reed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She went on to pioneer cardiac bypass surgery techniques at the Mayo Clinic, at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and at the

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the School o ...

Philanthropy

She was dedicated to the following: * Inner City Scholarship Fund for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York * Yorkville Common Pantry (Manhattan) * Community Board #8 (Manhattan) * The 74th Street Association (Manhattan) * Metropolitan Opera and Philharmonic (NYC)

Personal life

She married Dr. Clauss, a widower, in 1970, and remained in Manhattan for the rest of her career and married life until her death. They had no children, but she became stepmother to his three children. She was a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, although her husband was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

deacon and elder. She died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 2001, 12 days before her 76th birthday. Her funeral Mass was held at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. She was survived by a large extended family in the USA including her husband Dr. Roy H. Claus (died 2007), stepchildren Roy, Elliot and Jane, and step-grandchildren, including a namesake. She also had an extensive family in Australia including two sisters: Jill and Phillipa, numerous nephews, nieces, and many grand-nephews and nieces. Philippa, was the late wife of

Leslie Lazarus Leslie "Les" Lazarus (11 December 1929 - 17 December 2022) was an Australian endocrinologist who was one of the first co-Directors of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney from 1966 to 1969 and sole Director from 1969 to 1990. At th ...

, of Sydney, an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

Sources

NY Times obituary, 7 August 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clauss, Pamela 1925 births 2005 deaths Australian nurses Australian Roman Catholics People from Manhattan People from Sydney Australian philanthropists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Australian women nurses 20th-century philanthropists Australian expatriates in the United States