Ronald J. North M.D.

The family of Ronald J. North, M.D., will celebrate his life of 78 years at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 21, 2020, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers. His family will also host a time of fellowship and remembrance from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Friday, November 20, 2020, at Lake Ridge Chapel. Dr. North passed on Saturday, November 7, 2020. In compliance with local laws, face coverings are mandatory while attending the visitation and service. The service will be live-streamed on this page, and the family would treasure friends everywhere, signing the virtual guestbook and sharing memories and expressions of sympathy by selecting the icon below.Ronald J. North was born on May 3, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, where his father was a band director. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Enid, Oklahoma, and he graduated from Enid High School in 1960. There, he was drum major for the band, earned all-state honors in cornet for two years, set a school’s track record in the quarter-mile run, and acted in two plays during his senior year. He went on to major in pre-med at Phillips University in Enid, where he was elected an all-school representative to the student senate every year. Graduating from college in three years, he was accepted to the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1963 and earned the Doctor of Medicine in 1967.After medical school, he remained at the University of Oklahoma for a one-year internship and four years of General Surgery residency. He was selected chief resident in his final year, completing the surgery residency in 1972. He immediately entered the United States Army, serving at Fort Bragg, N.C., until 1974. From 1974 to 1976, Dr. North continued his medical education with a two-year Plastic Surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh and an additional six-month fellowship in Hand Surgery with Dr. Harold Kleinert in Louisville, Ky.After another year as a teaching staff plastic surgeon in Pittsburgh, Dr. North moved to Lubbock to establish a private practice in Plastic Surgery. His practice encompassed many types of surgery, including cosmetic surgeries, reconstructive facial surgeries, reconstructive hand surgeries, cleft lip and palate repairs, and many more. He retired after 31 years of private practice and truly enjoyed every one of his patients during that time.The move to Lubbock in 1978 to pursue his vocation also gave Dr. North a chance to develop several avocations. He learned to fly, obtaining his private, commercial, instrument, twin, instructor, and instrument instructor ratings. His love of flying opened up other opportunities. He loved to golf and frequently flew friends with him to play courses too far away to drive. He began officiating high school football, and for 23 years, he enjoyed being part of the Friday Night Lights of West Texas high school stadiums. His knowledge of football rules and his ability to fly to away games allowed him to assist Jack Dale and John Harris with Texas Tech football broadcasts from 1988 to 2000, including a segment he developed between the third and fourth quarters of each game entitled “Rules of the Game.” Dr. North flew Spike Dykes and other Texas Tech football coaches on many recruiting trips over the years, and he even offered flights to Texas Tech chancellors on several occasions.Dr. North was appointed to the Lubbock Airport Board, where he served six years, including three as chairman. He served in numerous other volunteer positions, including the Miss Texas and Miss Lubbock pageants, the Lubbock Country Club board, the Lubbock Symphony board, and as a judge for 15 years for the Avalanche-Journal Spelling Bee. He also played with the Westwinds Brass Band under director Phil Anthony. He retired from his medical practice in 2009, and he and his wife Gail split time living in Lubbock and in Hawaii, where he had always dreamed of spending his retirement playing golf and enjoying a peaceful island life. After a final return to Lubbock in 2015, he enjoyed a second career as a member of the Appraisal Review Board of the Lubbock Central Appraisal District.Survivors include his wife, Gail North; sons, Charles North and wife Rebekah, and Reagan North and wife Darbee; grandchildren, Emily Henry and husband Tanner, Lindsay North, Allie North, Clive North, and Annabee North.