Hall of Fame 2006

Phyllis Bailey Thurstone, MD

Class of 1951

Phyllis Bailey Thurstone, M.D. is a fifth generation Californian on each parent's side. Her mother was Leona Trafton of Watsonville. Her father, Clarence "Hap" Bailey, worked as a printer at the Watsonville Register Pajaronian.

            Phyllis attended local schools Mintie White, E.A. Hall, and Watsonville High School, graduating in 1951. Her two older sisters were also graduates of WHS: Dorothy Needham in 1938 and Alma Westberg in 1944. Both sisters are now deceased.

            As the recipient of a local scholarship given by an anonymous donor Phyllis attended the University of California at Berkeley for three years. Then, as an honor student, she entered Northwestern University School of Medicine.

            After medical school she interned on the Stanford service at San Francisco General Hospital and then completed a residency in internal medicine at the newly constructed Palo Alto Stanford Medical Center.

            It was at the Palo Alto Stanford Medical Center Dr. Thurstone met her husband, Conrad Thurstone, M.D., now deceased. Phyllis has three children.

            For over 28 years her practice was as a staff physician in internal medicine at San Mateo County General Hospital. She also had a Clinical Faculty appointment at Stanford Medical School and Center instructing medical students and residents in internal medicine.

            In 1990, Dr. Thurstone began a second career taking a residency in psychiatry to further her longtime interest in the human mind and behavior. She worked again for the County of San Mateo, the Veteran's Administration Hospitals, and more recently for the Social Security Administration.

            She is a Diplomate in both The American Board of Internal Medicine and The American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry as well as a Fellow in the American College of Physicians.

            Two of Phyllis' children are also involved in healthcare - a daughter is a nurse at Stanford Medical Center and a son is an adolescent psychiatrist and researcher in adolescent substance abuse in Denver. Another son is a business man in Louisville, Kentucky.

            Dr. Thurstone's family has been quite athletic with the discipline and sportsmanship of athletics being a source of pleasure and development. Two sons have been world class tennis players competing in international professional tours. Phyllis was elected to the Block W Society while at WHS.

            Phyllis believes she has been blessed with good health, much energy and curiosity about life and learning. She continues to be active in several areas: working part-time, studying psychoanalysis and its application to human growth and development, the arts, film, society, and politics.

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