William "Ed" Edward Dalton

William Edward “Ed” Dalton, 89, of Oklahoma City, OK, passed away on December 15, 2025, at home surrounded by his loving family. Intellectual and quick-witted, Ed enjoyed reading, travel, friends, and family. His commitment to his family, friends, and patients was unwavering. He was an enthusiastic storyteller who loved to make people laugh. He and his wife, Anne Levesque, were married nearly 70 years.

Ed and his family spent many vacations in Snowmass, CO; Birdeye, AR; the Outer Banks of NC, and, since 1998, on Bald Head Island, NC. Ed and Anne Levesque traveled to Europe and South America with friends. They took their children on trips to Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Fiji, as well as Europe. In 2006, Ed and Anne Levesque celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking their children and grandchildren to Paris.

Born in Pawtucket, RI, on October 14, 1936, and brought up in Norfolk, Virginia, Ed attended Fork Union Military Academy and Duke University. He was a member of Lambda Chi fraternity. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Memphis State University and his MD from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, having been elected to the AOA honor society in his third year. He completed post-graduate training in general surgery and plastic surgery at Medical College of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.

During his general surgery training, Ed went to England on an NIH fellowship, working at Westminster Hospital in London and Cambridge University. There, he had the privilege of working with Sir Peter Medawar on kidney transplants and Imuran anti-rejection therapy, research that later earned Sir Peter a Nobel Prize.

Ed was a proud naval officer and served as a combat surgeon in Vietnam with the Marines. After completing his plastic surgery training, he moved with his family to Oklahoma City in 1971 to become the first Chief of Plastic Surgery at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. The next year, he founded Oklahoma Plastic Surgeons. J. Michael Kelly, MD and Paul Silverstein, MD later joined him. They practiced together for forty years.

Ed was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and board certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He continued academic pursuits throughout his career, authoring many papers, and was a president of the Oklahoma Academy of Medicine.

Ed was an enthusiastic supporter of Duke University and the Oklahoma sports teams. He was a longtime member of the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club and member of the Oklahoma City Boat Club.

Ed was predeceased by his eldest son James Blair Dalton, parents William Rayfield Dalton and Isabel Corrigan Shulman, his stepfather Lewis Shulman, and brothers Blair Dalton and Lewis Shulman, Jr. He is survived by his wife, Anne Levesque, children Elizabeth, Meredith, John, and Catherine (Nick), grandchildren Blair Black (Ryan), Corrigan Tyrrell (Brooks), Robert Tyrrell (Tess), and Anne-Heidi Dalton, great-grandchildren Max Black and Bobbie Idlet, and sister Suzanne Shulman Martin.

Instead of flowers, please consider a donation to Duke University Trinity College Annual Fund (www.gifts.duke.edu/annualfund), the Hume-Lee Transplant Center at Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia (www.MCVFoundation.org/SupportHume-Lee ); the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, or another charity of your choice.

The service will be held at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM. A link for remote viewing will be available at[https://c.themediacdn.com/embed/media/W8s3Fj/iGHf8e9sYt4/m2YaxCspu3W_5?preview=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://c.themediacdn.com/embed/media/W8s3Fj/iGHf8e9sYt4/m2YaxCspu3W_5?preview=1](https://c.themediacdn.com/embed/media/W8s3Fj/iGHf8e9sYt4/m2YaxCspu3W_5?preview=1)

Private interment will be at a later date at Memorial Park Cemetery.