William Roy Breg M.D.

1923 - 2020

Breg, MD, William Roy
Dr. W.R. Breg, Professor Emeritus at Yale School of Medicine and a pioneer in the field of human genetics, passed away on Nov. 26, 2020. He had been a resident of Southbury, CT for 64 years.
Roy was born in Arlington, Texas in 1923, the son of William Roy Breg, Sr. and Lonnie Henry Breg. He spent the majority of his childhood in the Washington, DC area, graduating in 1941 from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He attended Union College in Schenectady, NY, from which he received a B. Sc. He was sent by the US Army to Yale School of Medicine and graduated from there in 1947. Roy spent four years in the Army Medical Corps where he achieved the rank of major and was posted at various medical facilities, including several in Japan.
In 1954, Dr. Breg became Asst. Medical Director at Southbury Training School, Southbury, CT, a residential facility for people with intellectual disabilities. His interest in the field of genetics began in the late 1950's and he subsequently received many research grants from the National Institutes of Health to study genetic disorders such as "cri du chat" and Fragile X syndromes.
Dr. Breg worked at Southbury Training School until 1977 when he was appointed Professor in the departments of Human Genetics and Pediatrics and director of the cytogenetics laboratory at Yale School of Medicine. During his medical career, he conducted research which led to innovations in how genetic research and medicine were practiced. He was the author of more than one hundred articles in journals such as Science, Nature, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Breg retired in 1993.
Roy displayed an interest in railroads from an early age and collected many model trains, particularly from the B & O Railroad. He was also an avid photographer of nature scenes and the many national parks he visited with his family in North America. His photos, many of which he developed and framed, were displayed at the Southbury Public Library. He sang in the choir at Southbury's United Church of Christ for over fifty years.
Roy was predeceased by his wife, the former Margaret Meston; they were married for 69 years. He is survived by his children Elizabeth (Betsy) Masson and her husband Paul of Niagara on the Lake, Canada; William and his wife Noel of Watertown, CT; Daniel of Sacramento, CA; and David and his partner Kathleen McCarthy of Baltimore, MD, as well as three grandsons Robert, Nathaniel, and Alexander, and two great-grandchildren Oliver and Alice. He was predeceased by his older sister, Frances Marsden.
A full celebration of Roy's life is postponed until safe travel is possible.
Donations in Dr. Breg's memory may be made to the Bent of the River Audubon Center at 185 East Flat Hill Road, Southbury, CT 06488, bentoftheriver.audubon.org.