Roll Call Tribute

Published in Houston Chronicle on Aug. 28, 2015

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke Jr.(1928 - 2015)
Dr. James Henry
"Red" Duke, Jr.
1928-2015
James H. "Red" Duke, Jr., M.D., renowned surgeon and medical educator, passed away of natural causes on Tuesday, the 25th of August 2015, at the age of 86.
Born in Ennis, Texas on the 16th of November 1928, he grew up in Hillsboro. After graduating from Hillsboro High School, Duke attended Texas A&M University, where he was head Aggie yell leader and served in the Texas National Guard from 1948-1950. Following graduation in 1950, he served as a commissioned Army officer in Germany during the Korean War.
Returning home, Duke attended and graduated from seminary in Fort Worth but soon answered a calling for a different career, obtaining a medical degree in 1960 at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Duke completed his residency in general surgery at Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital where in 1963 he was part of the trauma team tending to Gov. John Connally on the day of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Duke joined The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1972 as one of the first faculty members and established the trauma service at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the school's primary teaching hospital. He was professor of surgery and the John B. Holmes Professor of Clinical Sciences. In 1976, he led the development of the Life Flight program, one of the first hospital-based air ambulance programs in the nation.
An ardent conservationist, Duke served as president of the Wild Sheep Foundation, the Boone and Crockett Club and founder of the Texas Bighorn Society, which was successful in reintroducing bighorn sheep to West Texas.
Duke was the recipient of numerous honors including, most recently, the Texas Governor's EMS and Trauma Advisory Council's Journey of Excellence Award and knighthood of the Order of Saint George by the U.S. Calvary and Armor Association. The award symbolizes bravery and dedication to faith and decency while recognizing the very best tankers and cavalrymen among members of the U.S. Cavalry and Armor Association. He also received in recent years the Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award and the Dallas Safari Club's highest honor.
In 2014 Alvin ISD honored him by dedicating an elementary school in his name. His advice to students, "Always tell the truth. Always be considerate of others and what their situation may be. Try to do something nice for somebody else at least once every day. There's no value in worrying. You just have to work it out and solve the problem."
In all his endeavors, Duke said what was most rewarding was caring for his patients. "I love to see them get well and I hate to see them suffer," he said.
Duke was preceded in death by his parents James Henry and Helen Duke of Hillsboro.
He is survived by his immediate family: sister Helen Patricia Hipps; children Hank, Rebecca, Sara, Hallie; mother of the children Betty C. Kent; son-in-law Charles King; grandchildren Sean, Jesse James, Joshua, Maria Roosma, Wayloon Roosma, James R. Overton and Elizabeth Overton; and great-grandchild Cierra Rose. Also included are countless friends, colleagues, students, patients and admirers who appreciated his significant contributions to their lives.
The public is invited to pay their respects from three o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock in the evening on Saturday, the 29th of August, and again from nine o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock in the evening on Sunday, the 30th of August, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
The family will gather for a private graveside service at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Boone & Crockett Club, 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801, The James H. "Red" Duke, Jr. MD Endowed Scholarship Fund, UTHealth Office of Development, P.O. Box 1321, Houston, TX 77251-1321, or the to the Memorial Hermann Life Flight Fund.
Please view Dr. Red Duke online memorial tribute at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf303ZNlSUQ , as well as Clips of Dr. Red Duke's TV health spots from the 80's at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTZCz3-UWow.




Funeral Home
Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors
1010 Bering Drive Houston, TX 77057
(713) 789-3005
___________________________________________________________________________
Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors services notice
Ten Ten Bering Drive
Houston, Texas 77057
713.789.3005

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke Jr.
November 16, 1928 - August 25, 2015

Dr. James Henry "Red" Duke, Jr., a skilled physician, innovative healthcare provider, exceptional communicator and dedicated conservationist, died on Tuesday, the 25th of August 2015. He was 86.
The public is invited to pay their respects from three o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock in the evening on Saturday, the 29th of August, and again from nine o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock in the evening on Sunday, the 30th of August, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
The funeral and interment services will be private.
___________________________________________________________________________
Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors death notice
Ten Ten Bering Drive
Houston, Texas 77057
713.789.3005

Dr. James H. "Red" Duke Jr.
November 16, 1928 - 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.

Service arrangements are pending and have been entrusted to the care of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Directors, Houston, TX.

Service Arrangements Are Pending & Will Be Announced
Driving Directions
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https://www.uth.edu/drredduke/

JAMES H. "RED" DUKE, JR, M.D.
1928 - 2015

Remembrance

UTHealth and Memorial Hermann celebrate the life
of renowned surgeon James H. “Red” Duke, Jr., M.D.


James H. “Red” Duke, Jr., M.D., renowned surgeon, medical educator and Texas icon, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, surrounded by family and friends. He was age 86.

Duke, the John B. Holmes Professor of Clinical Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), was a dedicated physician known for his extraordinary patient care and efforts to train medical students and surgeons, and educate the public about health issues.

Dr. Duke in clinic at the UTHealth Professional Building Nov. 15, 2013, the day before his 85th birthday.

“Dr. Duke was a true pioneer – a talented and tireless surgeon, a dedicated and inspiring educator, and a friend and mentor to everyone he met. He never sought to be a leader, but became one naturally through his brilliance, compassion, patience and selflessness,” said Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, M.D., president of UTHealth and dean of UTHealth Medical School. “He was a constant presence at our university and we will miss his guidance, his wit and, most importantly, his example. From all of us at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston – thank you Dr. Red Duke.”

As one of UTHealth’s first faculty members at its Medical School, Duke established the trauma service at the primary teaching hospital now called Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. In 1976, he was instrumental in developing Life Flight®, the state’s first lifesaving air ambulance service. For almost four decades, he served as medical director of Life Flight, a signature program of Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute.

“Dr. Duke was one of our country’s great doctors. He was a friend, a colleague, and a role model and mentor to a generation of doctors who benefited immensely from his guidance. I, along with everyone at Memorial Hermann, will forever miss Dr. Duke. As we collectively grieve, we also want to extend our sincere gratitude for his relentless and unprecedented dedication and impact on medicine, education and the medical community,” said Dan Wolterman, president and CEO, Memorial Hermann Health System.

A founding member of the American Trauma Society, Duke spent much of his medical career developing an infrastructure to provide better care for injured patients while also focusing on programs to prevent injuries. He played a critical role in the development of the EMS and trauma system in the state of Texas. His tireless pursuits also resulted in serious consideration for the position of U.S. Surgeon General in 1989.

As a result of the nationally syndicated television news program, Texas Health Reports, which educated millions about topics ranging from kidney stones to injury prevention to proper nutrition, he became one of the most recognized personalities in his field.

His trademark bottle-brush mustache, military issued wire-rimmed glasses, Texas twang and colorful stories accented with cowboy hat and folksy humor made Duke a one-of-a-kind folk hero with the personality of an old-fashioned country doctor and the extraordinary talent of modern-day surgeon.

When the father of four wasn’t with his family, in the operating room, at his patients’ bedside or starring on a television program, he was an ardent conservationist, serving as past president of the Wild Sheep Foundation, the Boone and Crocket Club and founder of the Texas Bighorn Society, which has been successful in reintroducing bighorn sheep to West Texas.

Born in Ennis, Texas on Nov. 16, 1928, his family moved to Hillsboro, where the enterprising young Duke picked cotton, dug ditches and became the lone agent for the Saturday Evening Post and the Dallas Morning News while earning Eagle Scout rank. There he acquired his nickname, “Red,” for his curly red locks. Hunting and fishing in the surrounding countryside, he would often run across another red-head from nearby Abbott, Texas, who would become a legendary country singer and his lifelong friend, Willie Nelson.

Graduating from Hillsboro High School, Duke attended Texas A&M University and graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree. At A&M, he achieved school-wide popularity and distinction as head yell leader and began a tradition as the first Aggie to recite “The Last Corps Trip” poem at the school’s bonfire. With his undergraduate degree in hand, he served for two years as an Army tank commander in Germany during the Korean War before enrolling in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He received a divinity degree in 1955.

During seminary, a book about Albert Schweitzer, M.D., inspired Duke to pursue a career in academic medicine. He thought that caring for patients and conducting scientific research while training the next generations of physicians would be the best ways he could serve his community.

Duke earned his medical degree in 1960 at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He completed his residency in general surgery at Dallas’ Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he helped save the life of wounded Texas Gov. John Connally in 1963 on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Before accepting an appointment at UTHealth Medical School, Duke served on the faculty at UT Southwestern and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he pursued additional graduate studies in chemical engineering, biochemistry and computer sciences at Columbia University.

In 1970, he moved with his family to Jalalabad, Afghanistan to serve as a visiting professor and later chairman of surgery at Nangarhar University School of Medicine. He often said how much he loved the Afghani people and how he found it exciting and challenging to practice medicine there, without the benefits of modern imaging tools and other medical technologies.

In 1972, he returned to Texas to join the faculty of the newly created University of Texas Medical School at Houston, now part of UTHealth. In this role, he brought Level I trauma care to Memorial Hermann and Houston and a reputation as a compassionate surgeon, innovator and educator.

Richard Andrassy, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at UTHealth Medical School, said, "Dr. Duke was a friend, mentor and larger-than-life figure for thousands of us who were fortunate to be his students, residents or colleagues. He has passed down the wisdom that ‘the most important part of being a doctor is being a doctor.’ His hands-on care – from applying brown sugar to wounds to sitting at the bedside and holding the hand of his patients – would be a lost art if not for Dr. Duke.”

His curriculum vitae, more than 70 pages long, itemizes publications, book chapters, more than 600 presentations and numerous awards including “Surgeon of the Year” in 1988 by the James F. Mitchell Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, and lifetime achievements awards from both the Houston Technology Center and the Governor’s EMS & Trauma Advisory Council.

“As a physician, Dr. Duke is remembered for his tireless and steadfast dedication to his patients, as well as his personable bedside manner. He was compassionate, ethical, brilliant and humble. A colleague and a friend to all of us, he leaves behind a legacy of selfless service to his beloved community. He was a great physician, but even more so, an extraordinary man,” said Craig Cordola, regional president at Memorial Hermann.

Duke’s most recent accolades included knighthood of the Order of Saint George by the U.S. Calvary and Armor Association and the Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award, the Dallas Safari Club’s highest honor. Memorial Hermann Life Flight established a worldwide call sign – “Red Duke” – for all Life Flight communications with Air Traffic Control while on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flights. At its Constellation Gala on Nov. 14, 2014, UTHealth honored Duke for his lifetime achievements and announced the establishment of the James H. “Red” Duke, Jr., M.D. Endowed Scholarship, the first full-ride scholarship for students at UTHealth Medical School. Also in 2014, Alvin Independent School District recognized Duke’s commitment to education, math, science and innovation by opening Dr. James “Red” Duke Elementary.

In recent years, Duke was especially dedicated to his ongoing work with the U.S. military to enhance medical technology on the battlefield and surgical techniques supporting the medical needs of our military personnel. As a co-founder of the Texas Medical Center’s Hiring Red, White & You! initiative, he was equally dedicated to finding employment opportunities for military veterans who wanted to transition into the civilian workforce.

Duke is survived by sister Helen Patricia Hipps; children Hank, Rebecca, Sara and Hallie; mother of the children Betty C. Kent; son-in-law Charles King; grandchildren Sean, Jesse, Joshua, Maria, Waylon, James and Elizabeth; and great-grandchild Cierra Rose.

A private funeral service will take place at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, and a public visitation is being planned. Interment will take place at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin with only family in attendance.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions be directed to the James H. “Red” Duke, Jr. MD Endowed Scholarship Fund, UTHealth Office of Development, P.O. Box 1321, Houston, TX 77251-1321 or to the Memorial Hermann Life Flight Fund.