Dr. William Stanley (Stan) Myers, Sr. ‘58
Dr. William Stanley Myers passed away on Friday, May 8, 2015. He was surrounded by the family he loved so well when he left this life.
Stan was born on September 4, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee. While still a teenager, Stan delivered newspapers in Baptist hospital every morning before attending school in order to help support his mother, brother, and sister. It was a pattern throughout his life; working hard in order to give to others. The kindness and encouragement of doctors at the hospital spurred his interest in medicine. He attended Southwestern (Rhodes College) and then UT Memphis for medical school.
He met the love of his life, Nina Smith, while she was working as a hostess at Baptist Hospital. They married while he was in medical school, and he graduated in 1960 with one child in tow. He started a family practice, and soon after he was called to serve his country during the Vietnam War as a MASH unit doctor. He and Nina had two more children before moving to North Carolina, where he obtained his Allergy and Immunology specialty at Duke University. His fourth child was born while they were at Duke. Following graduation, he returned to Memphis where he opened his allergy practice, a calling he loved and served well until his retirement in 2006.
Stan was a beloved doctor, and was at his happiest serving his patients, offering sound medical care along with genuine concern and empathy. Stan was instrumental in the health of others in a profound way. He was a member of the AA community for over thirty- five years. In seeking healing for himself, he was able to help bring healing to the people around him. He was an empathic listener, a constant encourager and he had the unique gift of accepting people where they were and spurring them on to better themselves. Stan’s ability to give sacrificially to others and his generosity to friends, missionaries and strangers were known by everyone who loved him. He had a warm, loving heart, an infectious laugh and was quick with a joke that would bring a smile on any occasion.
Stan is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Nina Myers; his four children, Stan Myers, Jr. and his wife Sally Myers; Melanie Myers Wall and her husband Keith Wall; Amy Myers McDurham and her husband David McDurham; and Jenny Myers; and his grandchildren: Zach Thomason, Jake Wall, Tyler Myers, Nick Myers, Josh Wall, Jackson Wall, Jon Wall, Ella McDurham and Moses McDurham. He is also survived by brother, Hurley Myers and his wife Brenda, and his sister, Nancy Myers McBride and her husband Willie. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Ben Thomason.
The family will receive friends from 4-6 p.m. Monday, May 11 and the funeral service at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 both at Memorial Park Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials in Stan’s memory be made to the Church Health Center www.churchhealthcenter.org.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, “Behind the Stone Wall.”