of Little Rock, AR

July 18, 1935 - March 16, 2025

Doyne was born on July 18, 1935 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the son of George Doyne Williams, Sr. and Myrtle Josephine Kettenring Williams. He was the grandson of El Dorado physician, Dr. Charles H. Williams and his wife, Mary Braswell Williams and Philip Charles Kettenring and his wife, Catherine Miller Kettenring.

He was predeceased by both of his parents; his step-mother, Myra Williams; his grandparents and his sister, Dr. Mary Ann Williams Morris, who was a noted pediatric endocrinologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Doyne attended grade school and high school in El Dorado, Arkansas. He earned the McClure Chemistry Scholarship which allowed him to attend college at Hendrix College at Conway, Arkansas, where he graduated with a BA degree in chemistry in 1957. Some of his honors at Hendrix included:

• Being named to Alpha Epsilon Delta's National Pre-Med Honor Society 1954
• Being named to the National Honor Society - Blue Key in 1955
• Being named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities 1956 and 1957
• Winning the McHenry Chemistry Award 1957
• Being awarded Buchanan Academic Keys in 1959 and 1960

Following college graduation, Doyne was admitted into the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) medical school, where he obtained BS and MD degrees in 1961 and graduated Cum Laude. Doyne became a Research Fellow in the Cardiovascular Lab at UAMS. It was this fellowship that piqued Doyne's interest in heart surgery, as it allowed him to work closely with Dr. Masauki Hara, who was a pioneer in heart surgery and kidney transplantation. A few years later, Doyne would develop and set up the first heart surgery program in Arkansas at UAMS.

Doyne also did an internship at Duke University in Durham, NC in 1961-1962 and completed a four-year residency in general surgery at UAMS from 1962-1966.

Also in 1966, Doyne was drafted into the US Army as a Captain and completed the U.S. Army Medical Service Officer Basic Course at Brooke Army Medical Center in Ft. Sam Houston, TX. While there, he was an honor graduate and was also named the ''Outstanding Graduate'' of the U.S. Army Medical Field Service Course.

Following basic training, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he served as Chief of Surgery at the 93rd Evac Hospital at Long Binh, Vietnam. This hospital would routinely handle 880 orthopedic cases per month, treat 1,200 ER cases per month, process 2,000 x-rays per month and perform an average of 550 surgeries per month. His busiest day on record occurred during Operation Junction City, where he and his surgery teams performed 161 surgical repairs on soldiers in one 36-hour period.

Working with Dr. Masauki Hara had given Doyne a tremendous advantage when it came to vascular surgery while deployed to Vietnam. This resulted in his ability to save the lives of thousands of soldiers. While in Vietnam, he also wrote papers on the diagnosis and treatment of contused (bruised) lungs, vascular repairs, arterial spasms, arterial reconstruction, first aid and evacuation. Nearly all of these topics were a consequence of bullets or high velocity fragments that had penetrated a soldier's chest, abdomen or appendages.

Doyne was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service for his surgical skills and efforts while in Vietnam from August, 1966 to August, 1967.

Following his tour of duty in Vietnam, he was assigned to Womack Hospital at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. While at Ft. Bragg, he earned the Certificate of Outstanding Achievement from Womack Hospital in 1968.

After his military discharge, Doyne was offered a position working for the prestigious National Institute of Health (NIH) but instead chose to come back home to Arkansas, where he completed a residency in thoracic surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) from 1968-1969. He attained board certification from the American Board of Surgery in 1968 and board certification from the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in 1970.

Doyne joined the surgical staff at UAMS in 1970 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery (1968-70). He was promoted to Associate Professor (1972-1979) and was named Chief of Cardiac Surgery at UAMS in 1978. He ascended to the rank of full professor in 1979. He was also a consulting and attending staff surgeon for the VA Hospital and Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. During those years, he performed adult and pediatric heart surgery, conducted numerous research projects, produced 4 major motion picture presentations and published 60 original research articles related to cardiovascular surgery in such distinguished periodicals as Annals of Surgery, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Surgery, Journal of Surgical Research, American Journal of Surgery and the American Journal of Cardiology. He was also a nationally-noted and sought-after speaker in the cardiovascular field and presented papers and surgical films at all of the major surgical and thoracic conferences throughout the U.S. for well over a decade.

While practicing surgery at UAMS, in addition to performing adult vascular, valvular and coronary artery surgery, Doyne encountered an incredible amount of complex pediatric surgical cases, sometimes operating on infants as small as 840 grams (1.8 pounds) some of the hearts he operated upon were not as large as quarters! He operated upon and repaired every known congenital heart defect known at the time. The repair of many congenital heart defects was often complicated and some required support during surgery well beyond the usual 'heart-lung' machine. Thus, over several years, his research led to the development of a technique known as 'deep hypothermia,' which allowed a patient's body to be cooled to approximately 7 degrees Celsius. This turned out to be the extra support that was needed to facilitate the intricate surgery that was needed to repair heart defects deep within the heart that, otherwise, would have been impossible to fix. This technique which was pioneered by Doyne soon became standard operating procedure for other surgeons in the country dealing with complex congenital heart defects.

Doyne also encountered a significant number of rarities in his surgical practice. He became the only physician in Arkansas who was licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission to implant atomic pacemakers in patients and he implanted the nation's third atomic-powered plutonium pacemaker in a young man. He also repaired identical holes in the hearts of two ladies who were identical twins, with both surgeries taking place on the same day. And yes, like the young man with the atomic pacemaker, they did very well!

He was also involved in separating conjoined twins, as well as correcting an extremely rare condition known as ectopia cordis, or ''outside heart''. The patient with ectopia cordis was a 5-pound newborn who was born in 1979 with his heart completely outside of his body, requiring immediate surgery. This case gained world-wide attention as only 150 cases had ever been reported in surgical history and only one patient had ever survived such a horrific condition (and this survivor was completely ventilator dependent). Doyne performed the first of 4 surgeries just hours after this baby was born in an effort to save this tiny baby's life. The first surgery detached and moved the diaphragm downward to begin to make room for the heart to be placed back in the baby's body. It also moved some of the heart back into the body, where it was covered with a silastic patch. The second surgery occurred 3 days later to remove the silastic patch, shift the heart farther back into the body and apply some skin grafts over the heart. A few weeks later, the third surgery added more skin grafting over the heart and the final surgery made additional adjustments to the diaphragm. This baby survived, was never ventilator dependent and grew into childhood, which was a historical and world-wide first.

The legacy of those who teach lives on well after they are gone. The opportunity to watch Doyne in action in the OR and learn all of the surgical techniques needed to fix a multitude of cardiac and vascular problems on pediatric and adult patients, along with Doyne's explanations and lectures, along with learning all that was needed to post-operatively care for heart surgery patients afforded hundreds if not thousands of thoracic residents, surgery residents, medical students, nurses, nursing students, respiratory therapists, etc. the opportunity to learn how to give great care to cardiac patients who were critically ill.

In addition to performing heart surgery at UAMS and the VA Hospital, Doyne also started doing some of his adult heart surgery at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in 1977 to better handle the volume of cases that came his way. In 1981, he made the decision to completely go into private practice at St. Vincent and became its Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Gil Campbell, who was the long-time Chair and Professor of Surgery at UAMS, published a ''History of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arkansas'' and in that publication, he praised Doyne and his work at UAMS:

''Dr. G. Doyne Williams served for two years in the U.S. Army following completion of his surgical residency in the summer of 1966. He returned to Arkansas to take a two-year residency in thoracic surgery and shortly thereafter developed the busiest and most successful open-heart surgery program in the state. Dr. Williams was a tireless worker and was most generous in his support of the department. After years of dedicated service, he resigned in January 1981 to enter the private practice of cardiovascular surgery.''

In a congratulatory letter to Doyne upon his entering private practice, Dr. Raymond C. Read, who was the long-time Chief of Surgical Service at UAMS/John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, wrote:

''I appreciate the wonderful way you supported me and the Veterans Hospital program in heart surgery in the early days of the 60's and 70's. You got open heart surgery going at the University and in Arkansas after Dr. Masauki Hara's pioneering efforts. Under Dr. Vandevanter's direction, we now have the busiest VA open-heart program in the nation. We would not have it without you. I know how hard you have worked in heart surgery and I am one of the many who admire and respect you for it. You paid your dues and you deserve the future.''

After entering private practice at St. Vincent Infirmary, Doyne continued to perform primarily adult heart surgery until his retirement in 1991. That same year, he was named Physician of the Year by the St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center Board of Directors. He was commended for the outstanding leadership he had provided in developing the cardiovascular surgery program at the hospital. The plaque he was awarded by St. Vincent Infirmary states:

''You provided the expertise in developing open heart surgery, going from 100 cases your first year to over 1,000 cases in 1991. You were instrumental in developing the first cardiovascular intensive care unit and served as its first Medical Director. You have been a champion in supporting the cardiovascular team and forming it into an efficient and conscientious network of support personnel. We are grateful that after a distinguished career at UAMS, you moved into a full-time practice at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in 1981, developing a cardiovascular service that is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the state. Your vision and dedication to this hospital has made all of the above possible.''

During his cardiovascular surgery career, Doyne was a member of:

• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
• American Medical Association
• Arkansas Medical Society
• Arkansas Medical Society 50 Year Club
• Pulaski County Medical Society
• Society for Academic Surgery
• Little Rock Academy of Surgery
• American College of Surgeons
• American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
• Southwestern Surgical Congress
• Southern Association for Vascular Surgery
• International Cardiovascular Society
• American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Surgery
• American College of Cardiology
• Society of University Surgeons
• Society of Vascular Surgeons
• American Association for Thoracic Surgeons
• Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Following his retirement from cardiovascular surgery in 1991, Dr. Williams dedicated a great deal of time to the sport of trapshooting. He became a Lifetime Member of the Amateur Trapshooting Association, a Lifetime Member of the Arkansas State Trapshooting Federation and a Life Member of the National Rifle Association.

During a 25-year period, Doyne became one of the elite trapshooters in the world, winning 30 world championships. He earned a place on the prestigious ATA All-America Trapshooting Team ten times and was named Captain of the Veteran All-America Trapshooting team three of those times. He was named to the Arkansas State Trapshooting Team a record 34 times. He registered over 300,000 tournament targets and was inducted into the Arkansas State Trapshooting Hall of Fame in 1995. He was a generous financial supporter of the Arkansas State Trapshooting Federation and also gave back by serving as a Director and as the Federation's President. He has also been a financial supporter of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program, which awards college scholarships to talented young shooters.

His shooting prowess earned him an induction into his second Hall of Fame in 2005, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) and he has been a financial supporter of that organization as well, which houses the ASHOF Museum, as well as provides scholarships to worthy students.

Doyne's other passion in life was hunting, a sport that he enjoyed immensely with his family and friends during his entire life. He became a member of the Bull Sprig Duck Club in 1972 and in 1991 he was named President and Manager of the Club, which is located near Humphrey, AR. He also became a member of the Jackson Point Hunting Club for a number of years after his retirement. His skill at hunting deer at both of these hunting clubs earned him the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's ''Triple Trophy'' deer hunting award 10 times.

Doyne was noted for having a great appreciation for the conservation and preservation of Arkansas' outdoors and wildlife. As President of Bull Sprig, he also helped develop rules which focused on protecting the club's natural resources, which greatly benefited the ducks. In 1998, he authored and printed a hard-cover book on the history of the Bull Sprig Duck Club outlining many conservative principles. Some quotes from this book underscore his philosophy of habitat preservation:

''Maintaining good duck hunting in the future will present us with serious challenges. First and foremost, we must preserve our habitat. The current Bull Sprig rest area is legend in the region. Should we detect any deterioration in our hunting, we should respond quickly to get things back to normal again. The truth is, duck hunting has experienced many ups and downs many periods of great fragility. If Bull Sprig strives to ''always do right'' with regard to conserving resources, preserving natural habitat, and taking care of our ducks, we will remain Arkansas' premier duck club. Future decisions regarding Bull Sprig in the future must always place preservation of the habitat first.''

Noted Arkansas Democrat Gazette columnist Bryan Hendricks has acknowledged the success of Bull Sprig and its hunting policies several times, such as the mention below from the Sunday, December 27th, 2020 edition of the paper:

''Private hunting clubs like Bull Sprig, Greenbrier and myriad smaller ones enjoy superb hunting all season long. They only hunt early in the early mornings and they let their woods rest all day so that ducks feel comfortable and stay. And when someone enjoys a good shoot, they don't bring in a wagon train full of their buddies.''

Doyne was a Lifetime Member of Ducks Unlimited and was also an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Lifetime Sportsman. Because of his extraordinary contributions to the great outdoors and a lifetime of achievement in support of Arkansas' wildlife and natural resources, Doyne was inducted into a third Hall of Fame the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2014.

In addition to the above awards and honors, Doyne was also:

• Named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America in 1970
• Named one of the Personalities of the South in 1973
• Listed in Who's Who in Arkansas in 1974
• Listed in the International Biography in 1975
• Named one of the Outstanding Americans in the South in 1975
• Named a Distinguished Alumnus of Hendrix College in 1976
• Named a Fellow of the Council of Cardiovascular Surgery in 1977
• Listed in Who's Who in America in 1982 and 1983
• Named the Worthen-Cornett Honoree from the Arkansas Heart Association in 1996
• Honored by the Arkansas Medical Society for 50 years of dedicated service to his patients, community, and his alma mater, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2011.
• Awarded the Certificate of Honor from the American Legion in 2012.

Doyne is survived by his previous wife, Bryte Abernethy Williams; his current wife of 40 years, Nancy Lynn Turner Williams and two sons, George Doyne Williams III (Jackie) and Robert Hall Williams (Laura). He is survived by six grandchildren, Thomas Doyne Williams (Keri), Matthew David Williams (Stephanie), Robert Michael Williams (Taylor), Kayla Long Turner, Justin Burns and Ethan Burns. He is survived by three great grandchildren, Kayleigh Williams, Kira Williams and Hunter Turner. He is also survived by a niece, Karen Morris (Christina) and nephew, David Morris (Yaritza) and their children: Finn Andronache, Skye Andronache, David Oliver Morris and Sofia Morris, as well as a brother-in-law, David Hilton Turner.

''Friends are the family we get to choose!'' The family would like to thank some friends and neighbors who took a lot of time out of their busy lives and visited, called, texted, offered to stay with Doyne whenever needed and for as long as needed, made grocery trips, ran errands, fetched supplies, delivered meds, brought literally hundreds of meals to the house, offered prayers and hugs, plus even helped with things like snow shoveling! These folks listed below truly became family, and their countless acts of kindness will never be forgotten!

Special thanks to Karen Lacewell, Jim and Suzanne Sullivan, Dr. Phil and Mary Ann Mizell and their whole family, Sheffield and Mary Lynn Nelson, Bob and Sheila Wilimzig, Susan Elliott, Kathy Friend, Steve and Judi Short, Barry and Carole Nutter, Michael and Cathy Kincaid, Dr. Mel and Sheri Collazo, Evelyn Soo, Steve and Donna Carlson, Ben and Julie Pruet and the late, great Jerry Chandler.

Special thanks also to Dr. Charles Watkins, who was one of Doyne's partners in his surgical practice and a wonderful friend and to Linda Sherwood, an RN who worked with Doyne in his private practice. Their friendships meant the world to Doyne.

Special thanks also to Tony and Rick Rogers and the other Pharm D's at Don's Pharmacy who took such good care of Doyne Brooks Rogers, Michael Rogers, Myka Tabor and Whitney Lunsford.

Special thanks also to Dr. Lynn Davis, Dr. Tim Langford, Dr. Ken Martin, Dr. Allen Redding, Dr. Ryan Hall, Dr. Ramey Marshell, Dr. Greg Zawada and Dr. Debasis Das who also took wonderful care of Doyne, along with Crystal Christopher at Arkansas Urology.

Special thanks to members of the Bull Sprig Duck Club, in particular long-time friends and members Lee Thalheimer, Brooks Jackson, Dr. Tyler Baber and Doug Beard, as well as Bull Sprig's current manager, Greg Robinson you hunted with Doyne, called, visited, texted and were such good friends to him.

Special thanks also to George Howard from You First Medical Home Health Non-Medical LLC, caregivers from Right at Home and the staff at SeniorKare who truly treated Doyne like family: Owner Phil Schmidt; Office Manager & Scheduling Coordinator Shmeka Alor and his most recent caregivers: La'Tifah Jordan; Neteisha Barefield; Endrall Dennis; Sharon Jefferson; Terena Randall; Lonnie Phillips and Carolyn Bacot.

Special thanks to Briarwood Rehab and Nursing and its Administrator Joan Robbins along with some of her incredible staff members on the Rehab wing who were involved with Doyne's recent, primary care: Sierra Williams; Lacey Quiros; Felicia Tensley; Bella Evans; Dusty Scaramuzzo; Alicia Milan; Latrina Friels; Essence Hatchet; Michelle Prentiss; JoAnna Beliew; Kayla Searcy; Tony & Melissa Quintero; Sharon Marshall; Janet Goforth; Christy Hosman; Claire Golden P.A. and Medical Director Dr. Bushra Shah.

Special thanks also to Baptist Health and it's wonderful staff of doctors, nurses and ancillary personnel in the Emergency Department and various floors you also took such good care of Doyne!

''To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.'' Emerson. Many lives breathed easier because Doyne lived. He was a success in every sense of the word and will be profoundly missed, but his legacy will live on in all of the lives he touched.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025 at 11 a.m. at the Roller-Chenal Funeral Home with Reverend Tom Mitchell officiating. Arrangements are entrusted to Roller-Chenal Funeral Home. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Foundation.

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