KRUEGER, JULIAN THOMAS (1895-1964). Julian Thomas Krueger, surgeon, eldest son of Dr. Eugene and Annie (Bornefeld) Krueger, was born in Kyle, Texas, on March 27, 1895. Inspired by his father's work, he determined early in life to practice medicine. He graduated from Austin High School and then matriculated at the University of Texas in 1913. Two years later he entered the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he earned his M.D. degree in 1918. He then joined the United States Army and achieved the rank of lieutenant in the Medical Corps during World War I.
In 1919 Krueger moved to Lubbock, where he joined the staff of the Lubbock Sanitarium and became chief of surgery. His surgical fame rapidly spread through West Texas. He especially was noted for his ability to operate quickly; he could often perform surgery in half the time required by other surgeons. To keep current with medical developments, Krueger spent a number of weeks each year studying at such noted institutions as the Mayo Clinic-he was good friends with the Mayo brothers-or in the Boston medical centers, or in Europe. Soon after joining the Lubbock Sanitarium staff, he purchased a partnership in the hospital. Under his guidance the sanitarium evolved from a thirty-five-bed unit into one of the best cardiac-care hospitals in the Southwest.
Krueger was a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, served as president of the Lubbock-Crosby County Medical Society and of the Panhandle District Medical Society, and was a member of the Texas Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He was a member of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and was active in the Episcopal Church. He married Lelia Roberds on November 2, 1921; they had two children. Krueger died in Lubbock on December 14, 1964.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: William Rush Dunnagan, "A Survey of Lubbock's Growth As a Medical Center, 1909-1954," Museum Journal 19 (1980). Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, December 15, 1964.
