Clement B. Sledge, M.D., a leader in orthopaedic surgery and research, and a beloved mentor to generations of orthopaedic surgeons, died on Feb. 26, 2025, at age 94 in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Dr. Sledge was the John B. and Buckminster Brown Professor, Emeritus, of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the former Chief of Orthopaedics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. An avid sailor, accomplished woodworker, often-frustrated fisherman, and prolific gardener, Dr. Sledge was a longtime resident of both Marblehead, Massachusetts, and Westport Island, Maine.

The youngest of four siblings, Dr. Sledge was born on Nov. 1, 1930, in Ada, Oklahoma, to John Byron and Mollie Dorr Blount. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and received his medical degree from Yale University. Following a surgical internship at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, he served for two years as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy as the Chief Surgical Officer aboard the U.S.S. Macon. He then completed his orthopaedic residency in the Children’s Hospital / Massachusetts General Hospital Residency Program and spent three years studying tissue and organ culture at the Strangeways Research Laboratory in Cambridge, England.

In 1965, Dr. Sledge returned to Boston, joining the staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital as a practicing orthopaedic surgeon, and in 1970, he was chosen as the first, full-time Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at what was soon to become Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). He was elected President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in 1985 and was elected into the Institute of Medicine in 1992. Over the course of his 26 years of leadership at BWH, Dr. Sledge’s department grew from three physicians housed in a trailer in a hospital parking lot to a world-renowned practice with over 75 members.

Dr. Sledge was the author of hundreds of publications and dozens of textbooks, appeared in his own television program, established a research foundation, developed a cruciate retaining total knee system, and created a total joint registry. He was a pioneer in the design of artificial knees, hips, shoulders, and elbows. When he retired from surgery in 1996, however, he commented that his greatest professional accomplishment was the long-standing relationship he developed with his patients; he found immense satisfaction in improving the quality of his patient’s lives. In 1996, he became chairman of the newly-established Brigham and Women’s Physician Hospital Organization, working to join the Brigham and the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Orthopaedic Education programs.

Despite his many professional accomplishments, Dr. Sledge – Clement or Clem to his friends – was proudest of his family. He first met Georgia Behrendsen Kurrus in St. Louis while at Barnes Hospital, and after only five dates, they wed on April 13, 1957. They raised their four children in Marblehead, where Clement commuted long hours to allow his family to live by the ocean. He famously returned home from work one evening to find his children windsurfing in the cove behind their house. He proceeded to roll up his suit pants and step aboard the windsurfer still wearing his tie, expertly taking it out a few hundred yards before tacking, returning to shore, and hopping off.

He relished the family’s annual cruises along the coast of Maine, loved a good game of tennis, and never sailed a boat without turning it into a race. When Clem finally agreed to retire altogether in 1999, he and Georgia moved full-time to Westport Island, where he spent his days sailing, gardening, or puttering in his workshop, where he became a master wood turner. He also served a stint as Shellfish Warden, enforcing the town’s conservation efforts. Most importantly, he and Georgia loved welcoming friends and family to their home on Knubble Bay, taking guests for sunset cruises and hosting lobster dinners.

After Georgia’s passing in 2018, Clem devoted his time to his 12 grandchildren, delighting in their educational, athletic, and professional accomplishments. He spent far more time on the field hockey sidelines than he ever anticipated (particularly since he despised the sport), and he made his signature dish of gravlax for every single family holiday dinner. Clem was endlessly curious, reading the New York Times daily, devouring everything he could find on World War II (especially if it involved naval history), and could be counted on to offer both insightful commentary and delightfully inappropriate remarks. He also knew the answer to just about every “Poppy question,” from grammar intricacies to the complex communication of trees. His wicked sense of humor and his life-long love of learning were apparent until the very end.

Clem was deeply loved not just by his family and many friends of all ages, but also by his caregivers and his team at St. Andrews in Boothbay Harbor.

He was predeceased by his three older siblings, Claire Blount, John Byron, and Mary Willis, and his beloved wife of over 60 years, Georgia Kurrus Sledge.

He leaves behind his daughters Margaret (Mego) Sledge Tracy of Redwood City, California, and Claire Sledge Smith of Essex, Massachusetts; his sons John B. Sledge of Los Angeles, California and Matthew C.B. Sledge of Boothbay Harbor; his son-in-law Christopher R. Smith; his daughters-in-law Isabella J.P. Sledge and Jennifer A. Barry Sledge, and 12 grandchildren: Matthew, Kaitlyn, Kevin and Brian Tracy; Alexa and Elise Sledge; Margret and William Sledge; and Mollie, Reid, Elsa, and Annie Smith.

There will be a private celebration of life this coming summer. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Maine Island Trail Association.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Services. To share a condolence or memory with the Sledge family, visit Clem’s Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.