Paper Zinnias

This book is a collection of poetry written by Dr. Virginia Howard Irvine Blocker under the pen name "Victoria Browne". Her poetic observations/writings from over 75 years are included under this title. She was born on May 23, 1913, as a Canadian citizen in West Hope, North Dakota. Her father was Dr. Howard Thomas Irvine, a pioneering physician from Winnipeg, Manitoba and her mother, Dr. Annie Sowell Irvine, a fifth generation Texan, who was an early professor at The University of Texas. Virginia graduated from The University of Texas (Summa Cum Laude) receiving both her B.A. and her M.A. at age 19. She taught multiple languages (Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and French) in the Austin schools for two years and then began a scientific course of study to enter The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She graduated in 1939 with highest honors. While in medical school, she married Dr. Truman Graves Blocker, Jr., and had their first two children. Her husband became the first President of the University of Texas at Galveston.She formed personal and scientific relationships with Soviet scientists during the Cold War in Czechoslovakia and was among the first Americans allowed to visit the Soviet Union in the Fifties where she saw operations performed with ice as anesthesia, the two-headed dog and early transplant work. Following the U-2 incident, she learned Czech tongue twisters and medical research terminology and was the only physician to represent the United States at an international conference behind the Iron Curtain. There she presented Blackfeet war bonnets and chewing gum to Soviet physicians for their grandchildren and explained that she did not send the spy plane personally. In 1972, she was awarded the highest award of the American Burn Association, the Harvey Allen Award, for her pioneering work on burn research and wound care. She completed a ten year study for the United States Department of Defense and worked for government agencies and the National War College on special assignments in South America, Central America, Mexico, and Eastern Europe which included nutritional research on remote populations, the counting of goucho's and the burial of documents without shovels.The Marine Biomedical Research Vessel "Virginia Blocker" was commissioned in 1976 and she became one of the first women commissioned in The Texas Navy.Virginia created and wrote the First Aid Manual for The American Red Cross where she fought to include and popularize CPR Training and the Heimlich Maneuver. She researched and wrote the history of the first seventy-five years of UTMB.She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Truman Graves Blocker, Jr., M.D.., in 1984. He was president of the medical schools in Galveston, San Antonio, Houston and a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army. Virginia helped create the Blocker Rare Books Library.Her four children are, Truman Graves Blocker, III, Ph.D. of Dallas, Texas, Anne Singleton Blocker of Galveston, Texas, Sterling Howard Blocker, M.D., of Springfield, Missouri and Gordon Stanley Blocker of Galveston, Texas. She is survived by her 31 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. She adopted a large extended international family.Dr. Blocker passed aware at age 93 on June 9, 2005 in Galveston, Texas.