Thomas A. Broadie ’63

Tom, the lead guitar and an original member of Princeton’s Ivory Jim Hunter’s rock ’n’ roll band who went on to become an eminent surgeon, died March 30, 2023, in Fort Myers, Fla., where he retired. 

He came to us from St. Paul (Minn.) Academy, where he was on the football, basketball, and track teams and graduated cum laude. At Princeton, Tom majored in biology and was a member of Cannon Club. His roommates included Dennis Page, Dick Banyard, Marty Edelman, Dave Sloan, Roger Mentz, and Jim Mitchell.

In 1967, Tom earned a medical degree from Northwestern and began a long career as a surgeon and educator that led him to the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he served on the faculty and was chief of surgery at Wishard Memorial Hospital. He also served as secretary and president of the Indiana chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He retired in 2005.

In his entry for our 50th-reunion yearbook, Tom fondly recalled his time with Ivory Jim Hunter’s band: “About one week into our freshman year, my roommate Dennis Page and I were returning from supper in Commons. Passing Dod Hall, we heard rock and roll music. We followed the sounds and ultimately knocked on the door of what was a third-floor sophomore suite and were greeted by Jim Hunter ’62, who by himself and his guitar was entertaining his roommates. We suggested that we retrieve our stuff (guitar, bass guitar, and amplifiers) from our room and jam. We returned with our gear, played all the songs that we knew, played several that we didn’t, and on the spot formed the band that would occupy far too much of my time for the next four years as well as that of Marty Edelman, Bob Nicholson, Homer Russell ’64, and Peter Polatin ’64 who subsequently joined us.”

Tom is survived by his wife, Vicki; and his two children, Francie and Toby.