Hugh Francis' Obituary
Hugh Francis, Jr. was born in Memphis on July 27, 1930 and died on September 29, 2015. After graduating from the Training School and Central High School, he attended Washington and Lee University where he was a member of the golf, crew, and wrestling teams and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1954 and completed training in general surgery at Methodist Hospital in Memphis. Dr. Francis served as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and upon his return to Memphis practiced general surgery from 1963 until 1998. Most of those years he was the partner of Dr. Battle Malone, II. His patients remember him as a charismatic and loving physician. Hugh was president of the medical staff at Methodist Hospitals of Memphis in 1979, Chief of Staff from 1981 until 1983, and received the Methodist Living Award in 1998. He was president of the medical staff at Saint Francis Hospital in 1993. Serving as president of the Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society in 1982 he was the third of his lineage to hold that position. Hugh received the Tennessee Medical Association’s Outstanding Physician Award in 2002 and was its delegate to the American Medical Association. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Southeastern Surgical Congress and was a member of the Norfolk Southern Association of Physicians and the Southern Medical Association. Independent Presbyterian Church benefited from his leadership as an Elder and Chairman of the Christian Education Committee. A Scholarship Endowment Fund was established in his name at Palmer Home for Children where he served on the Board of Directors for many years. Hugh was an Eagle Scout and a distance runner who completed twenty-six marathons, including the Boston Marathon nine times and the New York City Marathon six times. He was a member of the Audubon Society, Trout Unlimited, the United States Golf Association, and the Memphis Country Club. His Lord and his family were always priorities in his life. He leaves his wife of fifty-nine years, Ruth Kelly Francis and their three children, Hugh Francis, III (Lysbeth), Lisa Turner, and Molly Roberts (Marty) and seven grandchildren, Hugh Francis, IV (Natalie), Kent Francis (Ann Tipton), Edward Francis, Kelly Turner, Sarah Fletcher (Mitch), and Meg and Bette Roberts. In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to The Doctor Hugh Francis, Jr. Wellness Center at Palmer Home for Children, P.O. Box 929, Hernando, Mississippi 38632 or Independent Presbyterian Church, 4738 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, Tennessee 38117. Visitation will be Friday at Independent Presbyterian Church from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. with a memorial service to follow at noon.
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