James E. Crockett

James E. Crockett, MD

October 20, 1924 - May 8, 2022

Leawood, Kansas - James E. Crockett, M.D., age 97, of Leawood, KS and Rancho Santa Fe, CA, died peacefully on May 8, 2022.

Jim's life was dedicated to practicing medicine and to medical education. He was an early leader in bringing modern cardiology practices to the Kansas City area, and was one of the founders of The Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute.

Jim was born in Kansas City, Kansas on October 20, 1924, and spent his childhood years in North Kansas City. He was proud to be a Kansas Jayhawk from birth, and was a lifelong devotee of KU basketball.

His childhood included summers at his uncle's farm in rural Clay County, where at age 10 he would ride horses bareback taking water to the men working in the field. He frequently told the story of when his Uncle Jewel found him reading under a tree in the farmhouse yard and told him he would "amount to something'" if he continued to read, a prophecy that proved true. He became an Eagle Scout, but that didn't prevent him and his friends from the occasional prank, including one Halloween when they used a block-and-tackle to hoist a Model T Ford on top of the North Kansas City High School. They may have been known to tip over an occasional outhouse as well.

Jim graduated from Park College in 1945 with a degree in Chemistry (Summa Cum Laude) before attending the University of Kansas Medical School. His graduation with a medical degree in June 1949 (with Honors) fulfilled a lifelong dream that was greatly influenced when his tonsils were removed at age 7 on the family dining room table; it was a catalyst that inspired in him a fierce passion to help people.

Jim met the love of his life, Marti Helen Adam, on a blind date on New Year's Eve, 1946. They married on June 8, 1949 in the chapel at Park College, and spent 67 years together before her death in 2016. They shared a deep love of family, good wine, their San Diego home, and most of all each other. They loved traveling through France, often with good friends. He missed Marti dearly after she died.

Jim served in the U.S. Navy as a medical officer during the Korean War; he served on troop ships to-and-from San Francisco, Sasebo, Japan and Inchon, Korea, and at one point performed an emergency appendectomy on a soldier aboard ship during a raging typhoon in the Sea of Japan. After the war, he returned to KU Medical Center where he received a fellowship in cardiology in 1954. He joined his longtime mentor and friend, Dr. E. Grey Dimond, on the medical staff at KU in 1955. He was appointed Director of the Cardiovascular Program at KU in 1960. In 1962, Jim joined St. Luke's Hospital, where he co-founded a new medical practice that would become Cardiovascular Consultants.

In the 1970s, he and several colleagues proposed the idea of establishing what would become the St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. This idea, shared by a handful of dedicated leaders in the hospital and community, became the largest heart surgery program in the region including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. It has been written of him, "Modern cardiology was launched in the early 1960s, with de novo techniques for cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography. These advances helped pave the way for coronary artery bypass surgery and valve replacement in Kansas City. James E. Crockett, MD, brought these innovative programs to Saint Luke's Hospital, planting the seed for what is now the Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute."

Jim served on the Editorial Board for the American Heart Journal and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, served on the Board of Trustees for the American College of Cardiology, and co-founded ACCEL in 1968 to provide continuing medical education for physicians. He was Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UMKC School of Medicine from 1969 to 1994. He authored numerous medical publications, several books on heart disease for patients, and a history of the Mid America Heart Institute. He also participated in several international medical delegations to Nigeria, Egypt, the Sudan, India, Brazil, and China.

Importantly, Jim was Dad to four children and husband to his wife Marti; he was their source for sage advice, support, and inspiration. To everyone who knew him, Jim was an outstanding physician, strong patriarch, wonderful mentor, and faithful friend. Jim left a meaningful legacy and will be greatly missed.

Preceded in death by his parents John E. "Judge" and Orva Rose Ramsey Crockett, wife Marti Adam Crockett, daughter Gail Diane Crockett, son Kevin Bruce Crockett, and his siblings Gary Keith Crockett and Virginia Lee Harris. Jim is survived by son Brian Keith Crockett and daughter Cara Beth Crockett; grandchildren Will Crockett (Sarah), Katharine Crockett, Sean Crockett, and Caroline Crockett; and one great-granddaughter: Raina Crockett.

Dr. Crockett's family would like to convey their heartfelt gratitude to all of the devoted friends and caregivers that enabled him to live his last months in dignity, comfort, and love.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, June 11 at 10 am at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 6401 Wornall Terrace. There will be a reception after the service in the Jewel Room of the church. Memorials appreciated to St. Luke's Foundation (www.saintlukeskc.org/saint-lukes-foundation) and Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute.