William Mangum Aden, M.D.

William Magnum Aden was born on December 6, 1944, in Vicksburg, Mississippi to Dr. Aubrey Aden and Anne Goodman Aden. He moved with his parents to Indianola, Mississippi shortly thereafter. In early childhood in Indianola, he met the love of his life, Joy (Tindall). He even attended her 3-year-old birthday party, where they were photographed together. They recently celebrated 57 years of marriage, and he often jokingly commented that he wasn’t sure whether he was married first or born first. Throughout high school in the Delta, he worked as a “Holly Ridge Cotton Doctor,” checking cotton for insect infestations. He graduated as the Valedictorian of his class at Indianola High School in 1963.

Bill graduated with his B.S. from the University of Mississippi in just three years and began medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1966. He was a member of AOA Honor Medical Society, a Dean’s Scholar, and received the Louisiana-Mississippi Ophthalmological & Otolaryngological Honor Award during medical school. After graduating from medical school in 1970, he completed an internship before finishing his residency in Ophthalmology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he served as Chief Resident.

He completed two fellowships: one in Ophthalmic Pathology under Dr. Milton Boniuk, and a second with Dr. Charles Kellman in Cataract Surgery at the Manhattan Eye Institute in New York. Under Dr. Kellman, he trained in small-incision cataract surgery (Phacoemulsification), a procedure that Dr. Kellman had invented.

Bill practiced from 1974 until 2020 and performed more than 35,000 successful cataract operations. He was the first Ophthalmologist in the state of Mississippi, and one of the first ophthalmologists in the southeast, to offer Phacoemulsification, subsequently teaching the procedure to hundreds of other surgeons in the southeast and for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. His pioneering efforts in small incision cataract surgery also afforded him the opportunity to perform the first outpatient cataract surgery in Mississippi.

Bill was a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, as well as being a founding member of the Board of Directors of the American College of Eye Surgeons.

Unfailingly kind and generous, Bill was affectionately known by his 4 grandchildren as either Papa Doc or Old Dude. At different points in time, he was also known as Bull and the Silver Fox. With his distinctive white hair, he was once mistaken for Ralph Lauren in an airport. He loved his daughters and grandchildren, but they often thought he loved his cat, Callie, the most. Despite that, he kept his family and friends laughing by telling colorful (and sometimes off-color) jokes.

He had many hobbies and interests outside of work and family. Bill was a scratch croquet player who was nationally ranked for many years. He played in more than 100 competitive six-wicket croquet tournaments in the United States and Canada, winning several. He and Joy were featured on the cover of the United States Croquet Association Magazine. Bill also loved travel and visited more than 50 countries and all 7 continents. He was a collector of rare gold coins, a connoisseur of red wine and chocolate, and an avid reader of history and theology. He loved God and was a faithful member of First Presbyterian Church for 57 years.

Early on the morning of October 4, after a short battle with cancer, he left the arms of his beloved Joy to fall into the arms of his Savior. He is survived by his wife, Joy Tindall Aden, his 3 daughters, Leslie Brannon Aden (Julie Tauzin), Allison Aden Simon (Clint), and Meredith Blair Aden Lowe (Mason), and his 4 grandchildren, Aubrey LaFleur Simon (24), Stewart Aden Simon (22), Patrick Tindall Simon (20), and Campbell Mason Lowe (8). He was predeceased by his beloved cat, Callie.

Visitation will be on Monday, October 9 at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson at 9:45 a.m. in the Miller Fellowship Hall followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, consider sending a memorial in his name to Reformed Theological Seminary, 4268 I-55 North, Jackson, MS 39211, First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS, or the charity of your choice.