My brother Nick just called me to let me know my Neurosurgeon died Saturday after a brief illness. The man literally saved my life. Dedicated to Dr. Countee NP: Passion Play(When All The Slaves Are Free) Dr. Roger W. Countee, UMDNJ prof, Plainfield neurosurgeon, 59 12/10/01A Mass for Roger W. Countee, M.D., 59, of Watchung will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in St. Bernardbs Church, Plainfield, after the funeral from the Higgins b Home for Funerals,b 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. Dr. Countee died Saturday in Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, Plainfield, where he had been chief of neurosurgery since 1990. He maintained a private practice in Plainfield and was clinical professor of surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick. He also held staff appointments at the Somerset Medical Center, Somerville, and JFK Medical Center, Edison, and had previously served at Trinitas Hospital, Elizabeth, the Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Mass., and the New Jersey Medical School and College Hospital, Newark. Dr. Countee was a visiting professor at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York City, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, the University of Michigan, Tufts University, Medford, Mass., and the Universities of Florence and Rome in Italy. A well-known authority in his field, Dr. Countee served as president of the New Jersey Neurological Society from 1991 to 1993, gave more than 80 invited lectures and presentations in the U.S. and Canada, Italy and Puerto Rico and was the author of 40 publications in textbooks and peer-reviewed journals. A University of Oklahoma graduate, Dr. Countee received his medical degree with honors in 1968 from the Howard University College of Medicine, which later granted him a Distinguished Service Award as an outstanding alumnus. He did his neurosurgical residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and held fellowships in neurosurgery at the Montreal Neurological Institute, the Neurological Institute at Columbia University and Neurochirugische Universitatsklinik in Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Countee was a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve. In 1983, Dr. Countee received the Golden Heritage Award from the N.A.A.C.P., Montclair Chapter, and the key to the city from Oklahoma City Mayor Andrew Coates. Born in Oklahoma City, he had lived in Watchung since 1986. Surviving are his wife, Jane A.; sons, Roger Brendan, Adam and Christopher; a daughter, Robin Countee-Pistorius; a brother, R.A. Countee; a sister, Brenda McKerson, and a stepsister, Ricki Kelly-Smith.
