51˶

Boston Medical Community Grieves Doctors Killed in Tragic Plane Crash

— "They loved medicine, they loved each other, and they loved life"

MedpageToday
A photo of Courtney Haviland, MD, and William Shrauner, MD

Courtney Haviland, MD, a 33-year-old pediatric resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, and her husband, William Shrauner, MD, a 32-year-old cardiology fellow at Boston Medical Center, were among the four people killed in a small jet crash in Farmington, Connecticut.

The couple, survived by their toddler son, was expecting a second child at the time of the accident. Two local pilots, William O'Leary, 55, and Mark Morrow, 57, were also killed.

The crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Boston Globe .

Haviland and Shrauner met as students at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. In an from Weill Cornell's 2016 Match Day, Haviland -- who had gotten engaged to Shrauner just the week before -- was full of excitement.

"It's nice to have a face on the future," she said. "It's starting to feel real. It's going to be hard to leave here."

Ben Shrauner, William's older brother, posted a tribute to his Facebook page, writing that his brother was the best mix of all the family's siblings. Haviland, he added, was a "perfect match for him. Smart, beautiful, witty, charismatic, and always fun to be around."

Shrauner was raised in Kansas and Oklahoma with two brothers and a sister, and went to Oklahoma State University as an undergraduate.

Both Haviland and Shrauner undoubtedly left a lasting impression on their colleagues in the Boston medical community.

"Courtney Haviland was an absolutely wonderful human being," Ronald Kleinman, MD, chief of the department of pediatrics at Mass General, local news channel WCVB. "She was warm, caring, always found the good in people, always ready to help and support any patient, any member of the residency group."

Joel Katz, MD, the director of the internal medicine residency program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where Shrauner trained from 2016 to 2020, the couple as "bright lights, devoted physicians, and dear friends."

In the week since the accident, friend of the family Matthew Mitchell, a pastor at United Methodist Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City who works closely with Shrauner's father, has been serving as a spokesperson for the family.

"The devastation of this moment, the reality of this moment, it sinks in, and it becomes surreal," Mitchell explained to local channel . "They were just a beautiful couple ... They loved medicine, they loved each other, and they loved life. They loved helping people experience the best of their lives."

  • author['full_name']

    Kara Grant joined the Enterprise & Investigative Reporting team at 51˶ in February 2021. She covers psychiatry, mental health, and medical education.