Dr. Robert E. Myers, MD

Robert E. Myers, M.D., age 83, former president and chief executive officer of Scott & White Memorial Hospital/Foundation and highly regarded as "the father of pediatrics at Scott & White," died Friday, March 28, 2014. Memorial services will be 1:00 p.m. Friday [April 4, 2014] at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2401 S. 57th St., Temple with Rev. Thom Lamb officiating. Visitation will be 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Thursday [April 3, 2014] at Scanio-Harper Funeral Home. Interment will be private. Memorials may be made to the McLane Children's Hospital, the Robert E. Myers Lectureship in Pediatrics at Baylor Scott & White or Grace Presbyterian Church. When Dr. Myers joined Scott & White in 1962, the Department of Pediatrics was in its infancy, but through his leadership the department soon offered a full range of children's health services. His concern for children encouraged him to volunteer on several community organizations serving youngsters. Under his guidance, Scott & White reorganized pediatric services to increase access for young patients. Among his great strengths was his ability to bring together people of diverse interests and talents to work for the common good. Dr. Myers served as the chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1966 to 1985. He was appointed a professor and chairman of Pediatrics at Texas A&M University College of Medicine in 1979. A member of the Scott & White Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees since 1979, Dr. Myers served as president from 1984 to 1995 and from 1996 to 1997. He worked closely with the professionals in the Foundation to encourage philanthropy and to raise funds for Scott & White's many expansions. He was named a Lifetime Governor of the Board of Trustees. In 1992, the Robert E. Myers, M.D. Lectureship in Pediatrics was established at Scott & White by friends, colleagues and associates of Dr. Myers to honor him as one of the pioneers of pediatric medicine at Scott & White, to expand the educational activities of the Department and to ensure that Dr. Myers' commitment to medical education continues. The annual lecture addresses the need for current information and new procedures in the practice of pediatric medicine by inviting outstanding practitioners and educators in the pediatric field to serve as guest lecturers. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Myers earned a medical degree in 1955 from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine in Little Rock. Following an internship at Cleveland City Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, he served two years as captain in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He then served a residency in pediatrics at Babies and Children's Hospital at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. From 1960 to 1961, Dr. Myers became an instructor in pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Hematology at the University of Oklahoma Medical School. In 1961, he was recalled to active duty during the Berlin Crisis and was stationed at Fort Hood, as a Major in the Army Medical Corps. Dr. Myers was a Diplomat of the American Board of Pediatrics and a member of the American Medical Association. A member of the Texas Medical Association, he served as Secretary /Treasurer of the Pediatric Section from 1980 to 1981 and as Chairman of the Pediatric Section from 1981 to 1982. He was active in the American Academy of Pediatrics, where he served on the Committee on Hospital Care from 1988 to 1992. Dr. Myers is a past president of the Texas Pediatric Society, serving on its Committee on Community Health Service and Child Health Planning from 1980 to 1990. He was also a past president of the Texas Association of Public and Non-Profit Hospitals, the Bell County Medical Society, the Bell County Society for Crippled Children and the Bell County Welfare Board. Active in community affairs, Dr. Myers was a member of the Peaceable Kingdom Children's Retreat Advisory Board and a past member of the Temple Education Foundation. He also served on the Temple Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. In addition, Dr. Myers served as past president of Scott & White Assurance Ltd. and of Scott & White Properties, Inc. He was past president of the Scott & White Clinic Staff Organization and has chaired numerous committees at Scott & White. A member of Grace Presbyterian Church, he served as an Elder. Dr. Myers received the Public Citizen of the Year Award from the National Association of Social Workers, Texas Chapter, in 1976, and the Silver Stethoscope Award from the Bell County Medical Alliance in 1993. He received an honorary degree in Humanities from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1995. He is survived by his wife, the former Katherine Mahan, his boyhood sweetheart whom he met in grade school. He is also survived by three children: Robert A. Myers and his wife Lori of Houston; Jack Myers, M.D., a Baylor Scott & White physician, and his wife Shannon of Temple; and Elizabeth Myers Ogden of College Station, wife of Paul Ogden, M.D., Interim Dean of Medicine and Interim Vice President for Clinical Affairs at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine; eight grandchildren: Robert Joseph Myers, Emily Ogden, Mary Beth Ogden Neumann, Maggie Ogden, John Robert Ogden, Katherine E. Myers, Genevieve Myers and Preston Myers; and one great-grandchild, Graham Myers.