Hot Lake, Union County, Oregon
Dr. Wm. T. Phy Died At Hot Lake
Dr. William T. Phy, surgeon and physician of fame throughout the Pacific northwest, passed away at 10:15 o’clock last Saturday morning at Hot Lake. Death was caused by bulbar paralysis, but he had been ill for several months of infectious multiple neuritis. Dr. Phy’s death came as a distinct shock to the entire state, to which his loss is immeasurable, says the La Grande Observer.
Dr. Phy, proprietor of the Hot Lake Sanatorium, built up the institution from a small beginning to its present prominence in the northwest, and he was recognized as one of the leading surgeons of the western country. He not only followed his profession with a genius and skill that ranked him among the leaders, but he endeavored to promote good health among the laity, seeking to educate them in intelligent care of the physical being.
Dr. Phy first became ill last fall, following a trip to the Ontario country hunting, when he fell into the water, it is reported.
Outside his profession, Dr. Phy was a recognized leader in many community activities, including chamber of commerce, Boy Scouts, dairying, etc. His Phymere farms, stocked with the finest of purebred Holsteins, constituted one of the leading dairying institutions of the Eastern Oregon country.
Dr. Phy was born in the year 1873, is survived by the following children: two sons, Dr. Mark Phy, William Scott Phy, and three daughters, Marcia, Marion and Margaret. He also leaves three sisters and other relatives.
Dr. Phy buried at Union
La Grande, Mar. 18–The funeral services for Dr. William T. Phy, who died Saturday at Hot Lake, were attended by hundreds of people Tuesday afternoon, and many were unable to enter the Episcopal church which was crowded to capacity. Rev M.G. Tennyson had charge of the services. The procession is said to have been nearly four miles long, when the body was borne to Union for burial. At the family plot in Union the Masons held a brief service. Mr. Tennyson took charge of the interment ceremony, and called upon Rev. Robert C. Lee, the Methodist minister at Union, and a friend of Dr. Phy, to pronounce the benediction.
Members of the state board of health and many out-of-town relatives, friends, and acquaintances were in attendance.
North Powder News – Oregon Trail Weekly
March 20, 1930
Transcribed by Charlotte Carper
