Arthur Lee Humphries, Jr., died Saturday, April 21, in Augusta, GA. Born February 26, 1928, in Rock Hill, SC, to Arthur Lee Humphries, Sr, and Helen Elliott O’Neal Humphries, Arthur moved to Columbia, SC, where he finished high school and then earned his BS at The Citadel in 1948. He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1952 and, after a residency at Vanderbilt University and service as a Captain in the Medical Corps, began his career as a surgeon at The Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
While at MCG, Arthur threw his energies into beginning a transplant program, the second in Georgia. In 1963 he was the first person in the world to preserve a kidney for more than 24 hours before transplantation. His determination and dedication to the transplant program, as well as the extreme care he took with all his transplant patients, helped the program to grow. This year marks almost fifty healthy years for his first kidney transplant patient. Arthur was known as a demanding surgeon to work with, quick to bark his wishes, but also one who gave as much of himself as he demanded from others.
A life-long lover of science, Arthur enjoyed tinkering with inventions and gathering materials for potential science experiments for his grandchildren. He inherited a passion for fitness from his father; he was competitive at tennis in his early life and golf later on. His love of music extended to playing the violin all through his life.
Arthur is pre-deceased by his brothers, O’Neal and Thomas, and survived by his beloved wife, Grace Toole Humphries, his children, Ann B. Humphries, William H. Humphries, Aubrey H. Brawner (Jim), and Helen H. Bennett, and his grandchildren, Russell Humphries, James Brawner, Miranda Brawner, Grayson Bennett, and Candler Bennett.
A memorial service to celebrate Arthur’s life will be held at Church of the Good Shepherd on Thursday, April 26, at 2 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Augusta Symphony, 1301 Greene Street, Suite 200, Augusta GA, 30901 or Augusta University Medical Center (MCG) 1120 15th Street, Augusta GA, 30912.
Posted in: Augusta Chronicle
Posted on: 2018-04-23
Link to original obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/augustachronicle/obituary.aspx?n=arthur-lee-humphries&pid=188815178&fhid=6207