Frances Phillips Conklin, MD

Frances Phillips Conklin, M.D.  of Cranston died at home surrounded by her family on December 20, 2022.

Born July 8, 1924, Frances was raised in Milford, Pennsylvania by the late Robert C. and Marion R. Phillips.  She was predeceased by her sister Jeanne Pulleyn and her brother Robert C. Phillips Jr.   

She and the late J. Wallace Conklin, M.D. had four children:  Suzanne Conklin, PhD. and her children Nina and Amy of Providence; Elizabeth Conklin, M.D. of Narragansett; Jennifer Conklin and her husband Vincent Pera Jr., M.D, of Cranston; and Jonathan Conklin of East Greenwich. 

In addition to her children and grandchildren, Dr. Conklin is survived by nieces and nephews: Marion Laisi (Thomas) and Samuel Robert Pulleyn; Donna Provost (Wayne), Deborah Phillips (Neil Chadwick), and Robert (Carol), Bennet (James Crowley), and Jeffrey Phillips; and Barbara, Patti, and Richard (Sheryl) Carlton.

Dr. Conklin attended schools in Port Jervis, New York, and then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she received her degree in Zoology.  With a polio epidemic afflicting the country, she obtained a degree in Physical Therapy from Harvard University, and then spent a year in Cape Girardeau, Missouri treating polio patients.  Following her year doing PT, she enrolled at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, from which she graduated in 1951.  She completed her internship at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and her residency in radiology at the University of Minnesota.  She then did a fellowship at Temple University in radiation therapy (oncology), which at the time was a branch of medicine in its infancy. 

Dr. Conklin moved to Cranston in 1956 and began her medical career at Miriam Hospital and then Rhode Island Hospital, where she started the radiation therapy department.  She later transitioned to private practice.

Dr. Conklin was a charter member of the RI State Board of Licensure and Discipline, and she was the first woman President of the Providence Medical Association.  She was named Woman Physician of the Year in 1989 by the RI Medical Women’s Association, of which she was a founding member, and she was inducted into the RI Heritage Hall of Fame in 1991.  In 1990 the Rhode Island Medical Society presented Dr. Conklin with the Charles L. Hill Award for leadership and service in the medical profession.  In 1985 the RI Division of the American Cancer Society awarded her the Terese Lasser award in recognition of outstanding service.   She was a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.

The family gives its most sincere thanks to Drs. Troise, Donat, and Lucas, who provided extraordinary care and counsel, particularly in recent years.  The family also thanks the home care providers: Fatuma, Irma, Beatrice, Louise, Robin, Lydia, Ophelia, Yanick, Nyia, and Fatou, who offered care, compassion, and understanding.

Arrangements will be private.  A celebration will be planned for a future date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Erik R. Laisi Memorial Scholarship Fund at St. Andrew’s School, 63 Federal Road, Barrington, RI 02806.

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