Frank C. Spencer (’44), New York, N.Y. :: He came to North Texas at the age of 15 and finished college in two and a half years — and then he went on to create the basis for cardiac surgery.

After his time at North Texas, Spencer graduated from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, trained at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California at Los Angeles medical centers, and then joined the U.S. Navy. While serving in the Korean War, he repaired 100 arterial injuries with techniques he learned at medical school. The military had not sanctioned the techniques, but it awarded Spencer with the Navy’s Legion of Merit Award instead of a court martial.

After the war, he finished medical school at Johns Hopkins, where he launched open heart surgery with a colleague, and established the University of Kentucky medical school. From 1966 to 1998, he served as chair of the Department of Surgery at the NYU School of Medicine, where he continued to innovate surgical techniques, such as coronary bypass. He also was recognized for his personal manner with patients, asking about their lives and interests.

He didn’t forget his rural roots — he grew up in the farming community of Haskell County — or his time at North Texas. He founded The Frank C. Spencer Rural Student Scholarship Program, which aids students from rural Texas counties. He was a Distinguished Alumnus in 1978 and a member of the Kendall Society.

Services will take place 11 a.m. July 28 at Mamaroneck United Methodist Church, 546 East Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, New York, 10543.