Edward D. Fikany M.D.

Edward D. Fikany, M.D., age 84, a longtime Fort Sumner, NM physician passed away Sunday, October 27, 2002 at Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis. Edward was born November 12, 1917, in Trinidad, Colorado, to Franklin and Rozen Fikany. Edward attended school in Denver and Clayton, NM, before graduating from high school in 1935 in Evanston, Ill. Edward completed three years of pre-medical courses at the University of Texas before joining the Navy and earning his medical degree at Northwestern University in Chicago in 1944. He completed his internship at the U. S. Naval Hospital, Bremerton, Washington, before serving as the junior medical officer on a cruiser in the Pacific in 1945. He saw Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, after the Atomic bombs were dropped there, and he cared for U. S. soldiers returning to the States. He completed his military service in a naval reserve unit. Edward worked with a surgeon in Dubuque, Iowa, and did a fellowship in Pathology at Cook County Hospital in Chicago before returning to New Mexico. In 1948 he discovered a challenge in Fort Sumner: a small privately owned hospital was available for lease and he wanted to operate it. In Fort Sumner, Edward also met his future wife, Peg Smith. They were married January 9, 1951, in Aspermont, Texas. Together they cared for Doc’s mentor, his aunt Dr. Ethel, his mother Rozen, Peg’s aunt Bebe Smith, and Peg’s mother Corinne Smith. Eventually De Baca General Hospital was built and Edward built an office across the street from it. He practiced medicine there for more than 40 years, serving as physician, friend, advisor, and confidant to thousands of patients in eastern New Mexico. Edward was preceded in death by his wife Peg Smith Fikany in 1975, his parents, and his sister Adele Azar. Edward is survived by his wife Frances Brown Hall whom he married in August, 2000. Also surviving are a son David, and his wife Cathy of Fort Sumner, and a daughter Lea Ann and her husband Alan Curry of Chandler, Arizona, and seven grandchildren: Zane, Lance, and Ryan Fikany, and Tara, Erin, Blake, and Anna Curry. Also surviving are his step-children and their families, Mary Gay McClain and her husband Rod of Taiban and their children Shannon Hargrove of Clovis, Morgan and Taylor of the home; Susan Hall of Santa Rosa; and David and Judy Hall of Denver, CO. His sister, Isobelle Ratcliff of Lincoln, CA, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and step-grandchildren survive him. Edward served his community in many capacities, including School Board President, Rotarian, and Chamber of Commerce president. He is a past president of the New Mexico Medical Association, and he has been a delegate to the state Republican convention. He was instrumental in the creation of the De Baca Industrial Development Board and its Medical Board. In 1999 the hospital was dedicated to him and renamed the Edward D. Fikany Medical Complex. Although Edward received many honors including the Rotary’s highest, the Paul Harris Fellowship Award, the NM Family Doctor of the Year in 1989, and the Saint George Award from the American Cancer Society, he said, “The most rewarding part of being a family doctor is sharing in the problems and successes of families.” In his many years of practice in Fort Sumner he delivered hundreds of babies and performed many operations. He was a dedicated professional who worked long hours and loved doing it. He was a very humble man who will be greatly missed. Funeral services will be held at10:00 A.M. Wednesday, October 30, 2002 from the First United Methodist Church in Fort Sumner with Rev. Monty Leavell officiating. Burial will follow in the family plot, Fort Sumner Cemetery. Pallbearers will include Zane Fikany, Ryan Fikany, Lance Fikany, Thomas “Cub” Haralson, Bob West, James West, Cecil West, Taylor McLain, and Bob Addison. Honorary bearers will be all his colleagues, physicians, and former co-workers at De Baca General Hospital. The family prefers memorials to the Fort Sumner Cemetery Association P.O. Box 180, Fort Sumner, NM or the American Cancer Society. All arrangements are under the direction of Chavez Funeral Home in Fort Sumner, NM. www.chavezfuneralhome.com