University of Otago Otago Medical School Alumni Association

Obituary - Dr Ronald H Hayward

Memorial services for Dr Ronald H. "Ron" Hayward, 81, of Temple was held on 21 June, at Christ Episcopal Church in Temple with the Rev. David Alwine officiating.

Dr Ronald H Hayward

Dr Ronald H Hayward
(1927-2009)

Mr Hayward died on 16 June in a Temple hospital.

He was born on 7 November 1927, at Island Bay in Wellington, New Zealand.

He graduated from Wellington College in 1945 and Otago Medical School in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1951. He was a resident surgical officer in 1955 at Dunedin Hospital, becoming a Fellow of the College (the youngest at that time) and also did a Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He received the Alumni Award for Meritorious Research and his Ph.D. in surgery from the University of Minnesota and completed his training in cardiothoracic surgery.

In 1964, he accepted a position at Scott & White Clinic in Temple and began a new field of cardiac surgery for the institution. He became the head of Department of Surgery, 1976-1989, and was elected to the Clinic Board of Directors. He served as a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Texas A&M College of Medicine, 1979-1989. He formally retired from practice in 1993.

He married Elizabeth Wells. He wrote a book on the many archetypal concepts held by the human kind titled: "Mind, Self, and Spirit. Exposing Immortal Images." He was preceded in death by a son, Gregory Wells.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 48 years; three children, Maureen Venable, Whitney John Hayward and Jennifer Bates; and five grandchildren.

Published in the Temple Daily Telegram, Texas
21 June 2009