Dr. Richard Rex Harris, an orthopedic surgeon who practiced at Vaughan Regional Medical Center since 2012, passed away earlier this week.
Harris, 84, was known as an excellent surgeon with many interests other than medicine. Harris owned a jewelry store in Mountain Brook, he was a voracious reader who could converse on many subjects, and he was an avid University of Alabama sports fan.
He was also known for what his nurse and friend Megan Johnson called his “work ethic.”
“If his body could have kept going, he wouldn’t have let the ice keep him away,” Johnson said, referring to the week’s bad weather. “He would have been right here at the clinic.”
“Dr. Harris was a physician whom you can trust would always do the right thing for his patients,” said Paul Pinon, DO, Vaughan’s chief of staff. “He was a close personal friend who will be sorely missed by myself and entire medical staff at Vaughan.”
Vaughan CEO David McCormack agreed.
“Dr. Harris was, first of all, the definition of the word ‘gentleman,’” McCormack said. “He was a gentle man to every person he met.”
After graduating from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completing his residencies in general surgery and orthopedic surgery in 1972, Harris went into private practice in Birmingham. He held privileges at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Johnson said Harris, a Grove Hill native, was later drawn to the Black Belt by a desire to work part time and by his desire to serve the type of rural communities he grew up in. He saw patients in Thomasville and Selma before working exclusively at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.
Harris stayed in the Loft in downtown Selma Sunday through Wednesday before going home to Mountain Brook on Thursday. While in Selma, he often ate with a group of friends at Tally Ho on Tuesdays. Retired internist Dr. Caldwell Debardeleben and his wife Patty were part of the supper club.
“We were crazy about him,” Patty Debardeleben said. “He was really such an optimistic, jolly person. He was fun to be around. Even when he was sick, he put the best light on it.”
Johnson said Harris “loved his Selma patients and was passionate about our community.”
“He gave back to communities that needed help, and the Black Belt needs that help,” McCormack said. “And he suffered for it. He didn’t make as much money. But he’s not suffering now. He’s sitting right where he should be.”
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