Dr. Wayne John Matzelle

Wayne John Matzelle was born Dec. 3, 1940 in Lorain, OH to Otto and Anne C.

Matzelle. He lost his 11 year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease on Jan. 17, 2021.

Wayne was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, MD and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. He interned at Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ and did a surgical externship at the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, NM, completing his surgical residency in 1971 at Hermann Hospital in Houston, TX and receiving their George Waldron Surgical Award.

Wayne was a General Surgeon in the US Air Force from 1971-1973 and in private practice in Houston until his retirement in 2008. His credentials included a fellowship in the American College of Surgeons in 1975. He was a delegate from Harris County to the Texas Medical Association. He practiced at Sharpstown General Hospital, Polly Ryon Memorial Hospital, The Methodist Hospital Sugar Land, Memorial Hermann S.W. Hospital and Memorial Hermann Fort Bend Medical Center. He also loved doing occasional locum tenens in emergency rooms around the state.

Wayne was one of the early practitioners of a particular gallbladder surgery technique now widely practiced; he published “Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy” in the Southern Medical Journal in Feb. 1991. Before his retirement his main interest was in breast cancer surgery. He was a kind, professional surgeon, receiving many recognition awards, including during his last year our favorite: the SW Methodist’s “Best Bedside Manner” award from their nursing staff. He loved his patients and was respected by them and by his colleagues. He was a member of the Southwest Surgical Associates. Before his retirement, Wayne joined the medical mission team of Faith in Practice under Dr. Gene Huebner that went yearly to Antigua, Guatemala, spending a week each trip doing surgeries for the Mayans.

Wayne was a recreational sailor, racing his sailboat down the Texas coast. After his sailing days he enjoyed fishing from his bay boat out of Angleton. He also loved to travel; with his wife Anne he traveled to many countries, and the latest series of travel was with the Houston Baptist University MLA graduates and their professors. Known by his grandchildren as “Papa” Wayne, he edited many videos of them and made funny memory tapes for them. He was an avid day-tripper of Texas’s back roads and an early hurricane-tracking programmer.

Two years after his retirement, Wayne was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. He immediately enrolled in many Alzheimer’s research trials. Immersion in the trials and other activities provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, such as singing in the choir “Together in Song” kept him engaged.

Surviving Wayne are his wife Anne, his sons Robert (Brynna) Matzelle and John Matzelle; his stepsons Bill (Lynn) McClendon, David (Laura) McClendon and Phil McClendon; his stepdaughters Catherine (Dean) Nickell and Carol McClendon. Also surviving are his brothers Don (Charlotte) Matzelle and Paul (Holly) Matzelle, and sister Marcia Matzelle, two grandchildren, seven step-grandchildren, two step-great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and his beloved dog Boots.

Special thanks go to his friend and physician Dr. Bill Fleming for his professional help in Wayne’s long Alzheimer’s journey.

Wayne will be laid to rest in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. A celebration of his life will be held at a future date due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or to Alzheimer’s Research in his memory would be wonderful.