Dr. Donald Lewis Ames, 83, Vero Beach
Dr. Donald Lewis Ames, a noted Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon and long time resident of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, after an extended illness. He was 83.
Don will be remembered for his passion for, and innovation in the field of Sports Medicine, keen business acumen, and deep devotion to family.
Born April 23, 1936 in Kirksville, Mo., he was the only child of Lucille Marie and George Walter Ames.
Following graduation from Kirksville High School, Don attended Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., where he was an active member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and graduated with a BS degree in1958. There he married his college sweetheart, Mary Rose Spicknall, 1956.
While Don completed his medical degree at St. Louis University and residency in orthopedic surgery at Tufts – Boston City Hospital, with a fellowship in hand surgery at Harvard Medical School, he and Mary Rose started a family of four children. Don planned to pursue a career as a medical professor at Harvard, but was drafted into the Medical Corps of the United States Navy in Charleston, SC, as a Lieutenant Commander in 1968. Don’s expertise in and passion for surgery, especially orthopedics, was ignited during this period of extended experience treating casualties from the battlefields of Vietnam.
Following Don’s Naval service, his newly honed skills in the operating room changed his course. Seeing need and opportunity in Vero Beach, he became the first board-certified Orthopedic surgeon there in1970. Don’s unrelenting drive for innovation led him to be among the first Florida surgeons to perform arthroscopic surgery. Don was a leader in driving the growth and development of this surgical innovation, often finding it necessary to design his own instruments and surgical tools to make it possible.
Don’s medical career continued to develop as he focused his efforts and passion in the growing field of Sports Medicine. He was the consulting physician for the Los Angles Dodgers during spring training in Vero and for the Vero Beach Dodgers minor league team from the early 1970’s until they left Vero Beach in 2008. He was also the New Orleans Saints football team’s doctor while they were in practice camp in Vero Beach. The love of Sports Medicine extended to the Vero Beach High School, Fighting Indians football team, where Don volunteered as the team’s doctor for 25 years. He was fondly referred to as “Saw Bones” by the team and staff.
Medical accomplishments were many and included induction into the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine in 1977, Board of Directors, Chairman of Credentials Committee, and Finance Committee for the Indian River Memorial Hospital. He was also President of the Indian River County Medical Society. Don was an activist for National Health Care Reform and the Medical Action Political Committee.
Don spread his energy beyond medicine to business endeavors in Vero Beach. He was the founder and managing partner of the Indian River Medical Center, and served on the board of directors for both the Sun Bank and Marine Bank. He also was an Indian River citrus owner and developer.
Don’s love of Vero Beach was expressed in his community involvement as a charter Member of the Riverside Theater, along with his wife, Mary, and served on Board of Directors of the Indian River Education Foundation. In retirement, Don worked with the We Care program to provide free medical services to underprivileged of the community.
Leisure time was very important to Don and was often spent with family and friends, fishing and cruising on his boat, leading trips in his motor home, on the golf course or hunting in Missouri. Traveling to visit family and friends was certainly always a priority. Don’s special fondness for the waters of Vero’s Indian River will be long remembered as the place he spent most of his time when not at work.
After the passing of Mary Rose, Don spent time with his children and grandchildren. He then met and married Sandra K. Tate. They spent their time between homes in Vero Beach and The Greenbrier in West Virginia, where they enjoyed living on the golf course, and were famous for their annual Halloween party.
Don is predeceased by his first wife, Mary Rose Ames, in 1996.
He is survived by his second wife, Sandra Tate Ames; and his children, Douglas Ames, Cynthia Mapel (JT), Phillip Ames (Cathy), Pamela Chiperfield (Rob); and grandchildren Winifred, Holt and Eddie Mapel; Lauren, Sophia and Charlie Ames; Robbie, Tyler and Claire Chiperfield.
A private service will be held for the immediate family. A celebration of life to follow in the spring. Those wishing to make a contribution in Don’s name, kindly consider donations to the Riverside Theater or The Indian River Education Foundation.
Thomas Sydney Arias, 92, Vero Beach
Thomas Sydney Arias, 92, passed away Dec. 27, 2019, at his home in Vero Beach.
A visitation will be held 9-11 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, and 9-11a.m., Friday, Jan. 3, at Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, 1655 27th St., Vero Beach.
A Funeral Service will be held at Noon on Friday, Jan. 3, at St. Augustine Episcopal Church, 475 43rd Ave., Vero Beach, FL 32968.
Susan Hull, 78, Indian River Shores
Susan Hull, 78, passed away Dec. 27, 2019, at her home, in Indian River Shores. She was born May 15, 1941, in New Brunswick, N.J., to the late Irving and Mary Van Cleef. She moved to Vero Beach in 2002.
Susan was a member of the Dutch Reform Church.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Gerald W. Hull, Jr.; children and grandchildren, Gerald W. Hull, III, Gabriella Pinn, Madeline Pinn, Aidan Pinn, Gerald W. Hull, IV, Emma Hull, Elizabeth Hull, Nancy Dowches, and Neil VanCleef.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Multiple System Atrophy Coalition, 9935- D Rea Rd #212, Charlotte, NC 28277.
Edwin Connell Sagurton, 94, Vero Beach
Edwin Connell Sagurton, 94, died peacefully in his home in Vero Beach on Dec. 24, 2019. Ed was born on May 18, 1925, in Mount Vernon, N.Y., to Nora and John Sagurton and grew up in the Bronx.
He attended Cathedral Boys High School and then Cardinal Hayes High School, graduating in 1943. Directly after high school, Ed joined the United States Army to serve his country during World War II in the South Pacific. He served from 1943-1946 as a member of the 96th Infantry Division, fighting in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He graduated from Manhattan College in 1950 with a B.B.A. and received his J.D. from Fordham Law School in 1955, which he attended at night while working at Arthur Anderson.
Edwin was a CPA and a member of the New York State Bar. He also attended New York University Graduate School of Law to study tax law. Edwin started his career with the Internal Revenue Service upon graduating from Manhattan College. From 1953-1958, he worked with Arthur Anderson as a tax manager.
He joined California Texas Oil Company (CALTEX) in 1958 as Tax Counsel, and then Monsanto Company in 1960 as Director of International Taxes. In 1963, he moved to Merck & Co. as Tax Director, and finished his career as Merck’s Chief Financial Officer, retiring in 1985. During his career, Edwin was Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Financial Section; Chairman of the Chemical Manufacturers Association’s Tax Policy Committee; Chairman of the Foreign Tax Committee of the Tax Executives Institute, and Chairman of the Conference Board Council of Financial Executives.
He also served as Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee at Overlook Hospital and as a Trustee at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, both in Summit, New Jersey. Ed was also a member of the Society of The Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick.
When he and his wife, Catherine, moved to Vero Beach, Ed joined the Indian River Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees. He was an active and dedicated member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, the Serra Club of Indian River County, a Knight in the Order of Malta, and a supporter of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach, where he and his wife Catherine were honored for their consistent support of Catholic Charities’ values and its works.
A lifelong lover of sports, Ed was a talented basketball and baseball player in his youth, and then took up golf, paddle tennis, and tennis as an adult. His athletic abilities coupled with a fiercely competitive drive brought him a bit of success and tremendous enjoyment. He was an avid golfer with memberships at Baltusrol Golf Club, Canoe Brook Country Club, and John’s Island Club. Most importantly, he was a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan, cheering on the team even as he worked in his teens as a ticket-taker for the New York Yankees; he was beyond delighted he lived to see the Cubbies win the 2016 World Series, which ended the team’s 108-year World Series championship drought.
Family was of paramount importance in Ed’s life; he was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother-in-law, and uncle. His gifts of love, unconditional support, and steadfastness to his family are his crowning accomplishments and will be treasured by all.
He is survived by his four children, Patricia Machir, of New York, N.Y., Claire McGuire, of Northfield, Ill.; Maureen Clancey (husband, Michael), of Dublin, Ohio; Edwin C. Sagurton, Jr. (wife, Eunju), of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; his sisters-in-law, Patricia Tuohy, of Vero Beach, Mary Ann Weir, of North Barrington, Ill., and Margaret Dooley (husband, James), of Maplewood, N.J.; along with his 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his cherished wife of 64 years, Catherine Tuohy Sagurton; and his brother, John J. Sagurton, of Bronx, N.Y.; and sister, Dorothea Flanagan, of Vero Beach.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Edwin’s honor to the Samaritan Center for Homeless Families, 650 41st St, Vero Beach, FL 32967 or Futures and Options, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
A viewing will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, January 3, 2020, at Strunk Funeral Home, Vero Beach. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, on Saturday, Jan. 4. Interment will be at John’s Island Cemetery.
Margaret C. Smiley, Vero Beach
Margaret C. Smiley, better known as “Connie Smiley,” passed away Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach after a short illness. She was born July 31, 1924, in Lawrence, Mass., and moved from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Key Biscayne, Fla., in 1969. She has been a resident of Vero Beach in The Moorings and Grand Harbor since 1981.
Mrs. Smiley graduated from Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, School of Nursing, Boston, MA in 1946. While raising her family of four children, Connie practiced as a private duty nurse in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Florida. In the Miami area, she was Assistant Head Nurse at Mercy Hospital, helped establish the Quality Assurance Program at Jackson Memorial Hospital and directed the Utilization Review Department at Doctors Hospital.
As a consultant, she directed work to prepare several key health care organizations for Joint Commission Reviews for Accreditation. In the Vero Beach Area, Connie assisted in the establishment and operation of the VNA and other Quality Assurance Departments at Home Health Care organizations. She was a Certified Quality Improvement Professional and served in nursing for 53 years, retired at the age of 75.
She was a member of the Florida Society of Registered Nurses, Retired, Inc. and the Holy Cross Women’s Club.
Surviving is her husband of 72 years, Lloyd; three daughters, Catherine M. Smiley, Newton, N.J., Patricia A. Smiley-Wilson, Claremont, Calif., Joan E. Smiley, Worcester, Mass.; and two grandsons, Andrew Burnett and John Wilson.
Connie was preceded in death by a son, L. Kevin Smiley, on Aug. 3, 2009, and a sister, Dolores Quinn.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach. Interment will take place in Florida National Cemetery at a later date.
