William Henry Boyce ’40

William Henry Boyce ’40, 94, died at his home in Stuart, Va., on Nov. 11, 2012. He was born on Sept. 22, 1918, in Anson County, N.C., to the late William H. and Louise Lockhart Gaddy Boyce. Boyce graduated from Davidson and received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University. Later, he was awarded honorary degrees by both institutions. He was a veteran of the Italian Campaign in World War II and the post-war hostilities in Trieste, where he served as an important back-channel link between Josip Broz, known as Tito, and the Truman administration. After the war, he specialized in urology and retired as the professor and head of the Department of Urology at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1988. He developed many surgical procedures that are still widely used today, and was a pioneer of diagnostic ultrasound. He authored many publications, and his book, Urological Surgery by Glenn and Boyce, was the definitive text on the subject for many years. He was appointed chairman of the NIH by President Kennedy and served as an advisor to the U.S. Army Medical Corps and several surgeons general. He was known worldwide and was the recipient of many prestigious honors and awards in medicine. He played a crucial role in keeping the doors of the Patrick County Hospital open. Throughout his life, he raised beef cattle and was an avid outdoorsman and horseman. He was a member of Calvary Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. Boyce is survived by his wife of 64 years, Doris Shore Boyce, PO Box 457, Patrick Springs, VA 24133; four children, Lock Boyce ’73 (Darlene), Catherine Baldwin (Steve), Barbara Howard (Bill), and Fred Boyce ’83; 11 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; a brother, Steven G. Boyce ’46; a sister, Glendora “Dusty” Taylor; and scores of grateful patients and friends.