Dr. Fred E. Hatch Jr.

Dr. Fred E. Hatch, Jr., 90, of Memphis died on Monday, December 21, 2020. He was born in Memphis, TN on August 11, 1930. He attended Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate training and received his MD degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1954. Dr. Hatch completed his internship at the District of Columbia General Hospital in Washington, D.C. and served his residency in Internal Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and the City of Memphis Hospitals in Memphis. He completed a fellowship in Nephrology at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. where he was a post-doctoral fellow of the Washington Heart Institute. Dr. Hatch then served a two-year active-duty assignment in the U.S. Naval Medical Corp. at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C. and as staff physician at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina.

Following his naval tour of duty, he joined the UT College of Medicine faculty in 1962 where he was instrumental in the establishment of the new subspecialty of Nephrology at UT. As a result, the first Artificial Kidney Center in the Mid-South was founded at UT in 1968 which culminated in the first kidney transplant being performed at the UT Health Science Center in 1970. Dr. Hatch served as Chief of the Division of Nephrology in the UT College of Medicine’s Department of Medicine from 1962 until his retirement in 1995. He served the City of Memphis Hospitals, now the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (The MED) as president of the medical staff and as a member of the medical board. He was also president of the medical staff at UT Bowld Hospital. The Nephrology Division applied for and received a charter from the National Kidney Foundation for the establishment of the Kidney Foundation of Tennessee, Inc. in 1968, a statewide organization with the first headquarters in Memphis. Dr. Hatch was the recipient of the Gift of Life Award from the National Kidney Foundation of West Tennessee and the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association Public Service Award. He has authored more than 100 scientific papers, books and abstracts. The Fred E. Hatch, M.D. Endowed Nephrology Professorship was established in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2000. Dr. Hatch was on the Executive Committee of the National Medical Advisory Council of the National Kidney Foundation, and Chairman of the State of Tennessee Renal Disease Advisory Committee. He was a member of and he held positions in several local, state, and national associations including the American society and Nephrology, the International Society of Nephrology, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, American Association of University Professors, American Federation for Clinical Research, and Central Society for Clinical Research. He was on the staff of William F. Bowld Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Methodist Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital and the VA Medical Center Hospital.

Dr. Hatch was preceded in death by his parents, Irene and Fred Hatch, Sr. He is survived by his cousins, David L. Hatch, Jr. (Florence) and Carolyne Hatch Lacombe (Robert). He is survived by his cousin, Dorothy Hatch Badeaux (Karl), of New Orleans, LA, longtime friend Dr. Bob Kelley (Carolyn) of Memphis, TN, and many other friends including his furry friend, Kumba The family also wishes to recognize his long term caregiver, Connie Wills, as well as Rubie Wilson, Esther Wallerah, Bessie Bell and Joyce Sanders. He was a long-time member of Christ Methodist Church where he taught Sunday School, served on the Administrative Board, the Ministry Council, lay delegate to the Memphis Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, and as chairman of the Adult Ministries Committee.

A graveside service will be held at Forest Hill Cemetery, Midtown on Monday, December 28, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. There will be a memorial service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to Christ United Methodist Church or to the Church Health Center.