Paige V. Sencindiver, 84, thoracic surgeon

Paige Victor "Vic" Sencindiver, 84, a thoracic and general surgeon in Philadelphia and former mayor of Beach Haven, N.J., died of complications of strokes Tuesday, Dec. 27, at Kendal-Crosslands, a retirement community in Kennett Square.

A native of Martinsburg, W.Va., Dr. Sencindiver earned a bachelor's degree in 1948 from West Virginia University. He earned a medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University and then interned and was a surgical resident at Jefferson University Hospital.

In 1953, he was on the team that completed the first successful open-heart surgery using the heart-lung bypass machine developed by John Gibbon at Jefferson.

From 1954 to 1956, Dr. Sencindiver was a medical officer in the Navy. While in the military, he completed postgraduate courses in hematology and cardiovascular diseases at the University of Florida Medical School.

He returned to Jefferson in 1956, completed his residency, and joined the surgical staff in 1959. For the next 25 years, he was on the staff at Jefferson and at Methodist Hospital and had an office on South Broad Street. For more than 20 years, he was also a physician at the Youth Study Center in Philadelphia.

At Jefferson, he met a nurse named Joanne Garber. They married in 1952 and raised a family in Merion.

In 1984, Dr. Sencindiver retired from surgery and opened a general medical practice in Beach Haven, where he had spent summer vacations. He maintained the practice for 12 years.

A community activist on Long Beach Island, he served as mayor of Beach Haven in the 1990s, was president of the Long Beach Island Historical Association, and was a founding member of the Long Beach Island Yacht Racing Association. He was a former commodore and trustee of the Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club.

In 1994, he acted as both physician and mayor when he examined the body of a woman who was found floating off a dock in Beach Haven.

A talented woodworker, Dr. Sencindiver often donated his carvings of waterfowl and wildlife to charity fund-raising auctions. He tended ornamental gardens and greenhouses at his homes in Merion and Beach Haven.

After he and his wife moved to Kendal-Crosslands seven years ago, he enjoyed visiting nearby Longwood Gardens.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Sencindiver is survived by daughters Gretchen Vare and Mary Alison Condurso; sons Michael, Christopher, and Andrew; and 12 grandchildren.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at the Farmhouse at Kendal-Crosslands, 1109 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, at Holy Innocents Church, 410 S. Atlantic Ave., Beach Haven.

Donations may be made to Stratford Friends School, 2 Bishop Hollow Road, Newtown Square, PA 19073.