James A. Ruffer, 69, comes from a military family, so it was no surprise that he was entranced with toy soldiers as a child. He also played with a toy medical bag complete with a stethoscope, a thermometer and tongue depressors. It was an interest that eventually led to medical school.

He went on to serve in three branches of the military, devoting 20 years of his life in service to his country as a captain in the Marines, a full colonel in the Air Force and a commander in the Navy, from which he retired in 1995.