DR. RAYMOND DEWITT KORNEGAY
Dec. 22, 1920-July 16, 2017
Dr. Raymond DeWitt Kornegay, 96, of Raleigh, N.C., died on July 16, 2017, surrounded by family.
Born in LaGrange, N.C., on Dec. 22, 1920, he was the son of a tobacco farmer and became a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, performing Wake County, N.C.'s first open-heart surgery in 1968.
He was a graduate of Seven Springs High School, Wake Forest College and the Bowman Gray School of Medicine class of 1945.
He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps for two years after medical school before continuing his training, which included residencies in pathology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedic surgery, urology, general surgery and thoracic surgery, followed by fellowships in general surgery as well as thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.
In 1962-63, he set up a thoracic surgery unit in Saigon, Vietnam. He practiced general surgery in Mocksville, N.C., and Goldsboro, N.C., before opening a heart/lung corporation in Raleigh, N.C.
He was noted for being the longest resident of the Hillsborough Street YMCA, living there 40 years. Dr. Kornegay will also be remembered for his prolific and eloquent handwritten letters and regaling listeners with detailed accounts of his fascinating career and life. He treasured his family and friends and never wanted to forget or forsake his humble upbringing.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Royle and Mabel Herring Kornegay of Seven Springs, N.C.; brother, Russell Wingate Kornegay of Miami, Fla.; sister, Elva Alice Kornegay Chambers of Woodberry Forest, Va.; and brothers-in-law, Norman Dwight Graham of Richmond, Va. and Clarence Wolfersberger Chambers of Woodberry Forest, Va.
He is survived by his sister, Christine Kornegay Graham of Richmond, Va.; nephews, William Dwight Graham (Michelle) of Midlothian, Va., and Glenn Russell Graham of Richmond, Va.; nieces, Dianne Graham of Richmond, Va., and Elizabeth Kornegay Edge of Thomasville, Ga.; and devoted friends, Billy McCollum (Linda) of Seven Springs, N.C., and Barbara Ann Adams of Norfolk, Va.
Respected mentors in his education include Dr. Tinsley Harrison, Dr. Richard Overholt, Dr. Charles Bailey, and Dr. Denton Cooley.
A graveside service will take place in Willow Dale Cemetery, Goldsboro, N.C., at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 21, 2017.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 19, 2017 8:05 AM