Arthur Dale Bankhurst

Arthur Dale Bankhurst was born in Cleveland Ohio on the 21st of July 1937, to English immigrants Daisy Howard Bankhurst and John William Bankhurst and passed away on the 18th of January 2026. Arthur had two brothers, John and Howard. From the age of eight, and throughout high school, Arthur delivered newspapers early in the morning. In his adolescence he explored the wood lots around his Shaker Heights home. Arthur spoke often of these childhood adventures, and the freedom they provided him in his formative years, as inspirations for later endeavors in his adult life. Following high school, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he completed his undergraduate education before graduating from Case Western Reserve Medical School. As a medical student he participated in the eradication of smallpox in West Africa. The government of Liberia awarded him special honors in recognition of his work in this effort.

Arthur finished his clinical training at the University Hospital in Cleveland and spent two years as Lieutenant in the US Navy. After the Navy, he embarked on a series of research appointments at prestigious research laboratories in Australia and Europe. These years abroad instilled in him a love of travel that he sustained throughout his life. His children fondly remember holidays in Arthur's beloved France and domestic road trips to California.

Arthur made lasting contributions to the fields of medical education and rheumatology over the course of his fifty-year career. In 1973, he joined Dr. Ralph Williams at the University of New Mexico, where he became the Head of Rheumatology in 1979 and Professor of Medicine in 1981. Following these appointments, he published over two hundred papers in many leading scientific journals, primarily in the areas of rheumatology and immunology. These articles included research that was instrumental to the development of the most important modern medications used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. He was also responsible for the training of fifty rheumatologists currently practicing in the United States. He joined the New Mexico Echo Program to educate both general and specialized physicians throughout the state. He was selected to become a Distinguished Professor at the University of New Mexico and assumed Emeritus status in 2015.

Dr. Bankhurst was lovingly supported by his family, including his wife Lois and his four children, Anne, Claire, Benjamin, and Noah. He cherished his seven grandchildren, Manon, Matis, Fiona, Eleanor, Alexander, Artemisia, and Seraphina. Arthur took great joy in the lives and accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by them.

Memorial services for Dr. Bankhurst will be held on Saturday, February 28th, 2026, 1:30 p.m., at the Alumni Chapel, University of New Mexico campus.