Obituary of Hubert Ross Estes

Dr. Hubert Ross Estes (Hugh) passed away in Tucson, Arizona, on January 29, 2016, three weeks short of his 91st birthday, with family by his side. Hugh was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Hubert Ross Estes, Jr., and Queen Eleanor (Thomas) Estes on February 21, 1925. He grew up in the Hyde Park area of Chicago and attended Hyde Park Public High School. As a young boy, he loved his family trips to the Indiana Dunes, where he became fascinated with nature, especially birds, and he loved examining the world through his microscope. In 1942, shortly after the onset of World War II, he began an accelerated education program as a participant in the U.S. Navy V-12 program, attending the University of Chicago, Dartmouth College and the Northwestern University Medical School, during which time he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Medicine, Master of Science in Pathology, and a Doctor of Medicine Degree. He interned at Evanston Hospital, near Chicago. On February 28, 1948, Hugh married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Lucille "Mickie" McFadden, also from Hyde Park. Later, while waiting to begin his medical residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Hugh took a job as Assistant Medical Examiner for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Chicago. His internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic began in 1950, but was interrupted in 1951 by the Korean Conflict. Hugh was drafted by the U.S. Air Force, and spent two years at Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado. His experiences at Lowry led him to switch his residency to psychiatry when he returned to the Mayo Clinic in 1953. He completed his work there in 1956. By then, Hugh and Mickie had four sons - Dave, twins Bob and Ken, and John - and another baby on the way. Hugh relocated his family to Houston, Texas, where he joined a psychiatric practice and also worked as an instructor at the Baylor University College of Medicine. During their time in Houston, their youngest child Holly was born. Hugh enjoyed reading the Arizona Highways magazine in the medical office's waiting room, which contributed to a decision to open his own psychiatric practice in Tucson, Arizona, in 1957. In the early years, as one of the area's first psychiatrists, Hugh travelled throughout southern Arizona to consult with a number of rural child guidance and community mental health clinics, and he developed close friendships with his colleagues, Wally Diers, Bob Cutts, Bob Douglas and Boris Zemske. During the 1960s through the 1980s, he was a Lecturer at the University of Arizona Medical School, Law School, and Department of Psychology. He served in a variety of roles for the VA Hospital, the Peace Corps, the Palo Verde Foundation and the Tanque Verde Valley Association. He was one of the founders of Palo Verde Hospital (now Palo Verde Behavioral Health) and his love of the desert lives on through his suggestion to name the newly forming facility "Palo Verde." Hugh loved to camp and took his family to the beaches of Mexico and the forests of Arizona many times every year before his children were grown and on their own. While the locations tended to be remote and lacking amenities, the meals Hugh and Mickie prepared were often gourmet delights. Hugh also enjoyed photography and spent many days visiting sites in Arizona, Oregon and Ireland, taking hundreds of high quality photographs. Hugh closed most of his private practice in the mid 1990s and worked with the Arizona Department of Economic Security Disability Determination Services Administration until he retired in 2014 at the age of 89. Throughout his medical career, Hugh earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues, coworkers and patients. He held numerous positions of leadership with the Tucson Psychiatric Society, the Pima County Medical Society, the Arizona Medical Association, the Arizona Psychiatric Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, the Medical Society for the U.S. and Mexico, the Mayo Alumni Association and Alpha Omega Alpha. Hugh was recognized as a Distinguished Life Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association in 1987 and was awarded the Arizona Psychiatric Society Humanitarian Award in 1994. Hugh possessed superior intelligence and had many talents. He was a devoted husband and father, a generous and loyal friend, and a caring doctor to hundreds of people during his 90 years of life. Hugh was predeceased by his parents (1949, 1978), wife Mickie (2008) and his son Ken (2009). He is survived by his sons Dave (Barbara), Bob (Sandy) and John (Dee Dee) Estes; his daughter Holly (Dick) Coast; daughter-in-law Laura Bennett; grandchildren Dan (Bridget), Katie (Cassie), Brian, Matthew, Caitlin, Jenny, and Emily Estes; and great-grandchildren Mary, Michael, Lucy, Anna and Rosa Estes. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at Bring's Broadway Chapel, 6910 East Broadway in Tucson. In lieu of flowers, Hugh requested that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association or a similar organization.