A well-known doctor in the Dayton area, Laws spent decades bringing the latest advancements in cardiology to the region and regularly took humanitarian trips to regions across the world dealing with conflict or natural disasters.
Laws and his wife lived in Germantown for many years before they retired to Florida, where he died on April 30 at the age of 87.
“I told him life has been one big adventure with him,” Patsy said.
Laws, originally from the South and born in Oklahoma City, saw his medical career take flight in Dayton. From 1975 to 2020, Laws was an interventional cardiologist at the former Grandview Hospital, now known as Kettering Health Dayton. Doctors and former staff remember Laws for being a pioneer in cardiology for the region, as well as for his signature three-piece suits.
On the cutting edge
Laws was among the first to perform angioplasties in Dayton, said Howard Folz, Laws’ former assistant. An angioplasty is a procedure used to widen narrowed or blocked arteries, restoring blood flow, according to John Hopkins Medicine.
“Dr. Laws...went to Switzerland to learn how to do this,” Folz said.
Laws was on the cutting edge of cardiology in Dayton in the ’70s and ’80s, said Dr. Thomas Ruff, an interventional cardiologist with Kettering Health.
Laws also shared his knowledge with other doctors.
“He loved to teach,” said Kelly Fackel, who worked with Laws during her time at the Grandview Foundation. “He taught generations of internal medicine residents.”
Laws and Fackel worked on a book “Patients and Patience,” which celebrated the history of Grandview Hospital, Fackel said. The book was written by Geoff Williams, who wrote, “For years, researching Grandview Hospital has been a labor of love for Dr. Laws.”
Williams was brought aboard the project because Laws determined he would only have time to write until after he retired, which wouldn’t have been for another 14 years at that point as the book was published in 2006.
Laws still had collected numerous interviews with physicians and had compiled vast amounts of data, from newsletters to written explanations about some of the hospital’s earliest days, that made the book possible, Williams said.
A humanitarian on a mission
Laws was an asset to the Dayton region not only for his knowledge, Ruff said, but also the humanitarian work that Laws did with the Knights of Malta. While the Knights of Malta has a deep history, it is a humanitarian organization primarily known today for its medical and social assistance.
“I would always sit and listen to his stories when he would come back,” Ruff said.
Laws wanted to go on as many humanitarian trips as he could, Folz said.
“He was energized to do as many things on his many trips as he could possibly do,” Folz said.
A list of Laws’ relief missions included Russia, Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Cuba, Cambodia, Ecuador, Philippines, Haiti, Sri Lanka and more.
“They were in Afghanistan when the bombing was going on and everything,” said Patsy, who still has a bullet proof vest from one of her husband’s trips to Afghanistan.
Laws made multiple trips to Afghanistan, including in 1985, 1987 and the early 2000s, according to the list of his relief missions.
At one time, Laws also had to parachute into Afghanistan for one of the humanitarian trips, which likely brought back memories from his time in the U.S. Army. Laws was a veteran of U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, which specializes in parachute assault operations into hostile areas.
“His experiences in the military shaped his character and reinforced his desire to help those in distress, further influencing his path in medicine,” Laws’ obituary says.
The Dayton Daily News went with Laws on one trip as he and other doctors provided aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in more than 220,000 deaths.
“He went to a lot of difficult, dangerous places throughout the world,” Folz said.
Friends that became family
Many who knew and worked with Laws also became close friends with him.
“He treated us like family,” Folz’ wife, Pam, said. “He was at our wedding. They were at our daughter’s wedding. They were at our son’s wedding. We have been a part of their family for 47 years.”
Howard and Pam Folz had just been on a trip to see Laws and his wife the week before Laws died.
“My son asked him, ‘How was the visit with Howard and Pam?’” Patsy said. “And he said, ‘It was so relaxing and so enjoyable.’”
They had coffee each morning outside on a patio overlooking the ocean, Patsy said.
“It was just a beautiful week,” Patsy said.
Laws is survived by his wife, his son, Marcus (Leslie), his grandson, Wesley (Allison), his great-grandson, Liam, and his sister, Amelia L. Davis. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Aurie Laws, and his son, Jason.
A local memorial for Laws will be held at 12:30 p.m. on May 31 at the American Legion Post 598, 5700 Kentshire Dr., Kettering.
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