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James 'Red' Duke, iconic surgeon who started Life Flight, dies at 86
Source: Houston Chronicle
James 'Red' Duke, iconic surgeon who started Life Flight, dies at 86
By Todd Ackerman Updated 8:16 pm, Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Dr. James "Red" Duke Jr., Houston's iconic, cowboy-style doctor who delivered homespun health advice on nationally syndicated television and founded the Life Flight helicopter ambulance system, died Tuesday. He was 86.
Duke, a trauma surgeon who attended to Gov. John Connally on the day of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, succumbed to natural causes at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He had been in declining health the past year.
"Red was a true pioneer in medicine for our community - a visionary in trauma care, a dedicated doctor, a superb educator, the larger-than-life figure that everyone knew," said Dan Wolterman, president of Memorial Hermann Health System, where Duke practiced for four decades. "His personality was so contagious. You couldn't help but like Red and want to engage him in conversation. He was everyone's friend."
His passing was announced Tuesday evening in a statement from his family issued by Geo. H. Lewis & Sons funeral directors.
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By Todd Ackerman Updated 8:16 pm, Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Dr. James "Red" Duke Jr., Houston's iconic, cowboy-style doctor who delivered homespun health advice on nationally syndicated television and founded the Life Flight helicopter ambulance system, died Tuesday. He was 86.
Duke, a trauma surgeon who attended to Gov. John Connally on the day of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, succumbed to natural causes at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He had been in declining health the past year.
"Red was a true pioneer in medicine for our community - a visionary in trauma care, a dedicated doctor, a superb educator, the larger-than-life figure that everyone knew," said Dan Wolterman, president of Memorial Hermann Health System, where Duke practiced for four decades. "His personality was so contagious. You couldn't help but like Red and want to engage him in conversation. He was everyone's friend."
His passing was announced Tuesday evening in a statement from his family issued by Geo. H. Lewis & Sons funeral directors.
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Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/James-Red-Duke-iconic-surgeon-who-started-Life-6465434.php