William Howard Waugh

WAUGH , William Howard On Wednesday, July 18, 2012, William Howard Waugh , M.D., FACP, passed away on after a long illness. Dr. Waugh was born on May 13, 1925, in New York, New York; son of Richey L. Waugh, M.D, Medical Director of the United States Public Service, and Lyda L. Waugh. He was the third of four sons, Richey L. Waugh, Jr., MD, Robert J.L. Waugh, MD, and Charles R. Waugh. Dr. Waugh attended Boston Public Latin School in Boston, MA, Boston University, West Virginia University, and graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in Medford, MA. He was a veteran of WWII with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Korean Conflict with the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, where he served as a physician in Nagoya, Japan, during the American Occupation. He and his young wife Eileen shared this adventure on their way to their 59 years of marriage. Dr. Waugh was a respected medical scientist, physician, and professor. He held faculty positions at the Medical College of Georgia, the Kentucky Heart Association (endowed) Chair of Cardiovascular Research and Professor of Medicine at the University Of Kentucky School Of Medicine, and he was instrumental in founding the East Carolina School of Medicine. At ECU he was Professor of Medicine and Professor of Physiology, served as Director of the Department of Clinical Sciences for the young medical school, and was Acting Chair of the Department of Medicine. He served ECU for 30 years and devoted much energy to ensuring high scientific ethics by chairing the institutional review board for research with human subjects, for both the medical school and the university, for 18 years. After "retirement" in 2001, he remained active and productive as Professor Emeritus in Physiology and continued to conduct original scientific research, publish professionally, and earned several patents for his work. In his later years much of his work was done from his home laboratory. His last scientific publication was as recent as two years ago at age 85. The personal strengths that propelled Dr. Waugh's many and varied accomplishments include persistence, determination, a dedication to excellence, and rigorous pursuit of the truth. He evidenced these traits both in his professional and personal lives. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and he did. He is survived by his wife, Eileen Garrigan Waugh, of Greenville, NC; children, Mark H. Waugh, of Knoxville, TN, Kathleen C. Waugh, of Scottsdale, AZ, and William P. Waugh, of Goldsboro, NC; and a grandson, Robert M. Waugh, of New York, NY.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, at 4 PM in the Wilkerson Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to Sickle Cell Foundation of America, 231 East Baltimore Street, Suite 800, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com