Helen Vodopick-Goswitz M.D. passed away on July 8, 2025. The family will receive friends on Friday, August 1, 2025, from 5-7 p.m., followed by a rosary at Weatherford Mortuary, 158 South Jefferson Circle, Oak Ridge. On Saturday, August 2, friends may visit from 10-11 a.m., followed by a Mass at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 327 Vermont Avenue, Oak Ridge. The ceremony will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Dr. Vodopick-Goswitz was “one of the greatest trailblazing women of our time, who passed away at the age of 94,” according to her obituary (here).

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Helen was raised by her Croatian immigrant parents. She attended Marquette University and later applied to Marquette Medical School (now the Medical College of Wisconsin). She was one of just three women in the medical school class of 1956. During her time in medical school she met Francis Goswitz, also a medical student. They were married on June 2, 1956, the day before they graduated.

They completed their internships and residencies at the University of Iowa hospitals. In 1965, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Medical Division offered a job to Dr. Francis, who insisted that they also offer a job to his wife. She was hired, but at a lower salary than other male physicians.

When ORAU closed its medical division in 1974, the team of Francis and Helen opted to stay in Oak Ridge and opened the Oak Ridge Medical Clinic which served thousands of patients until it closed in 2017.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Helen, alongside Dr. Liselotte Sigmar and Dr. Elaine Bunick, was one of only three female physicians at Oak Ridge Hospital, paving the way for future generations of women in medicine. A highlight of Helen’s career was her interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, where she defended her pioneering work with radiation treatments for NASA. She also testified successfully before a Senate committee led by then-Senator Al Gore.

Dr. Helen Goswitz was a brave pioneer who helped open the medical profession to women. In the 2023-2024 academic year, women represented 54.6% of all medical school students in the United States, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. This marks the fourth consecutive year where women constituted a majority of medical school enrollment.