Dr Henry L. Laws II

Henry Latham Laws, II, M.D. of Mountain Brook, Alabama, passed away at home February 25, 2014. He was born on February 24, 1933 in Columbus, Mississippi, where he graduated from Lee High School. He graduated from Ole Miss, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and played football. He completed two years of medical school at Ole Miss, then transferred to Harvard Medical School from which he graduated in 1956. He interned at Baylor University and completed a surgical residency at the University of Alabama. He served as a Surgeon in the U.S. Army. After eight years of private practice in Anniston, Alabama, Dr. Laws embarked on his passion for teaching and joined Dr. John Kirklin's surgical staff at the University of Alabama Medical Center. He pioneered a program for the training of physician assistants and led that program while at UAB. From 1982 to 2000, Dr. Laws was Director of the Surgical Training Program at Carraway Methodist Medical Center where he trained many students, interns, and residents. During this time Dr. Laws also served as a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Dr. Laws was Past President of the Association of Surgery Program Directors and served as a national officer of the American College of Surgeons and was on its Board of Governors. He was a past president of The Southeastern Surgical Congress and was recognized by it with their Distinguished Service Award. He was also a leader in numerous other medical organizations including the Southern Surgical Association, as well as Leadership Birmingham. He was inducted in 2004 into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame, and in 2012 into the inaugural Hall of Fame of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. Dr. Laws was considered a visionary and innovator in developing advancements in small incision surgery. Beginning in 1990, he published seventeen papers on laparoscopic surgery. From 1989 to 1992 he was co-director of the Laparoscopic Laboratory Practicum, utilizing the Auburn Veterinary School to instruct surgeons in performing laparoscopic surgery. Over six hundred surgeons from seven countries took this course. Dr. Laws spoke on five continents as the principle speaker or main panelist on endoscopic surgery. He has authored over one hundred forty scientific articles and exhibits and served as Visiting Professor or Visiting Surgeon at many medical centers including Duke University and Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital. He was also a contributor to Hardy's Textbook of Surgery. Retired since 2003, Dr. Laws and his wife Debbie have spent time at their farm in Chilton County, Alabama, where he had a passion for growing oak trees, quail hunting and fly fishing. Dr. Laws was a member of the South Highland Presbyterian Church where he served as an Elder and Deacon, taught the Inquirers Class and belonged to the Men's Prayer group. He also was a long time member of the Birmingham Country Club. Dr. Laws was preceded in death by his parents, Henry Latham and Frances Henley Laws. He is survived by his beloved wife, Debbie Laws, and children: Hank (Sally) Laws of West Palm Beach, FL, Lauren Laws Conner (the late John Conner) of Birmingham, and Susan Laws and her husband, Phillip Consentino, of Washington, DC, and six grandchildren: Ella Laws, Frances Conner, Catherine Conner, Elizabeth Conner, Holden Consentino, and Caroline Consentino. He is also survived by brothers Jack (Janice) Laws of Jackson, MS, and Albert "Chance" (Gail) Laws of Columbus, MS, and numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins. Services will be held at South Highland Presbyterian Church, 2035 Highland Avenue, Saturday, March 1 at 2:00PM. A reception will immediately follow the service in the Davis Family Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Living River: A Retreat on the Cahaba, 3603 Lorna Ridge Drive, Birmingham, AL 35216. Dr. Laws was especially grateful to his doctors, Dr. Allen Yielding and Dr. Robert Elliott and their staffs.