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Family, friends hope for recovery Frohnmayer hospitalized with apparent heart attack By PETER WONG Frohnmayer Family members, friends and colleagues expressed hope for the recovery of Dave Frohnmayer, a Medford native and University of Oregon president, who suffered a heart attack Friday at a conference on the East Coast. Frohnmayer was stricken about 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time while at a meeting sponsored by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and was taken to Suburban Hospital. He was listed in critical condition Friday night by the hospital, which described what happened only as a "medical emergency." But first reports also said he appeared to be responding well to treatment. "I do not know anything more than what was in the first reports from the intensive care unit," said John Frohnmayer, his younger brother, who is a lawyer and writer in Bozeman, Mont. "Once his wife and son arrive, we presumably will know more." Dave Frohnmayer's wife, Lynn, and eldest son, Mark, were en route Friday from Eugene to the hospital. His parents, Otto and MarAbel Frohnmayer, live in Medford. Bill Deatherage, one of Otto Frohnmayer's law partners, said the elder Frohnmayers were the guests at an office party for Otto Frohnmayer's 94th birthday Friday. "It was really bad news for a birthday," Deatherage said. Provost John Moseley, the chief academic officer at the University of Oregon, said in a statement that Frohnmayer was surrounded by physicians when he suffered "what appears to have been a cardiac arrest." The 59-year-old Frohnmayer has been university president since July 1994. He is a former attorney general and state representative. As part of his duties, Frohnmayer testified frequently in Salem this past session as the Legislature's joint budget committee approved increased aid for state universities, based on a new per-student budgeting system. He spoke privately about the heavy demands on his time. John Frohnmayer and others said they were not surprised how busy Dave Frohnmayer was, but they were surprised by what happened Friday. "This has been his lifestyle for his entire working life," John Frohnmayer said. "He has tremendous energy and has done lots of things. But as far as I know, he has never had any significant health problems." Maureen Shine, deputy director for communications at the university, said employees call Frohnmayer the Energizer Bunny, "because he never stops." State Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, said Frohnmayer looked tired when the session finally wound down in late July. "It was nothing out of the ordinary," Hannon said. "At the end of a session, we all look pretty washed out. But he is such a workaholic. He goes from sunup to sundown." Hannon and other friends said it was the latest tragedy to befell the Frohnmayers. They referred to the deaths this decade of two of Dave Frohnmayer's three daughters, Katie and Kirsten, from complications associated with a rare blood disorder known as Fanconi's anemia. The Frohnmayers are founders of Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, based in Eugene, which funds genetic research and sponsors an international symposium. "I guess that you always expect people who have such strength and wisdom to keep going," said Judy Barr of Medford, who attended Medford Senior High School with Dave Frohnmayer in the 1950s. "It makes me feel vulnerable to hear this, because people always lean on Dave. Having gone to high school with him -- and I always think of him as a senior in high school -- you see your own mortality flash before your eyes." Barr said her husband, Dennis, talked with Frohnmayer in Ashland a few months ago. Frohnmayer made frequent trips to the Rogue Valley, though he has not lived here since his graduation from high school in 1958. He was a law professor at the University of Oregon from 1971 to 1981. He was a state representative from Eugene between 1975 and 1980, when he was elected to the first of three terms as attorney general. He resigned in late 1991 to return to the University of Oregon as dean of its law school, and then was chosen its president. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 1990 but lost to Democrat Barbara Roberts in a four-way race. Other state officials expressed their concern. "I know I speak for all the members of the Department of Justice in saying that our former colleague and friend Dave will be in our thoughts and prayers over the next days and weeks of his recovery," said Attorney General Hardy Myers. "We are grateful that immediate medical attention was available," said Joe Cox, the state university chancellor and former Southern Oregon University president. "We join all Oregonians in hoping for the best." Hannon said he and Frohnmayer knew each other long before Hannon became a senator and Frohnmayer a representative at the same time in the mid-1970s. "We sat beside each other in summer band at Lithia Park when we were in high school in the late 1950s," said Hannon, who is three years younger than Frohnmayer. "So our friendship goes beyond -- and before -- politics. Dixie and I offer our hearts and our prayers to him." TheAssociated Press also contributed to this story. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA