Oscar A. Thorup Jr., one of the original founders of the College of Medicine, died on Oct. 21 at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. He was 80 years old.

In 1966, Thorup joined the UA's medical school as professor and chairman of the department of medicine. Working with Merlin K. "Monte" DuVal and Philip Krutsch, they formed a three-man planning team to develop the College of Medicine. Over the next four years, they worked closely with architects while concurrently developing the curriculum for the incoming medical students.

During his nine years in Tucson, Thorup served on many civic committees, including the Hospital Planning Council for Greater Tucson, the Arizona Heart Association, the Southern Arizona Heart Association and the Pima County Medical Society.

He served on the board of directors of the local chapter of the American Red Cross and as chairman of the Planning and Allocation Committee of the Tucson Community Council (United Way). Additionally, Thorup held several leadership positions on the Tucson Health Planning Council (board member, executive committee and president).