It is with great regret that I announce the passing of Dr. George Migaki, formerly of the Registry of Veterinary Pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. George was a pioneer in the comparative pathology of zoo and wildlife animals (and one of the first veterinary pathologists to take an interest in the pathology of marine mammals) as well as laboratory animals. He was the author of innumerable papers of animal models in conjunction with the Journal of Comparative Pathology and many other journals. A cursory search of "Migaki G veterinary" in either Pubmed or Google will quickly document his massive contributions to our field.
I met George as a first-day resident and we struck up an fast friendship based on our combined intense curiosity for all things pathological.Every day, for the first two weeks of my residency, George would invite me into his office to show my a slide and ask me for my diagnosis. I would give my best shot (which wasn't much) and he would clap and exclaim with glee, "It's just autolysis!"
I fell for that every day for two weeks until I myself one day said "Autolysis?" Then the real teaching began, and he was an amazing instructor, mentor, and colleague.
George was a veteran of WWII - an American soldier of Japanese descent (which requires no more explanation) - and we would talk every year on Veteran's Day. He was incredibly kind, a true gentleman, and one of the unsung heroes (which was fine with him) of our field.
Godspeed my friend....
More information on his truly wonderful life is available at:
