Dean Myers, Eye Surgeon, Dies At 81
Nationally Known Physician Was Former City Council Head
Dr. Dean Wentworth Myers, 81, nationally known eye surgeon and former president of the Ann Arbor City Council, died Saturday night after a long illness.
Dr. Myers had practiced medicine for some 52 years, 48 of them in Ann Arbor.
Born April 27, 1874, in rural Ionia county, he was the son of David Wallace and Rebecca Macomber Myers, pioneers in Michigan who came here from Genesee county, N. Y.
Dr. Myers was married to the former Cora Louise Owen on Aug. 29, 1900. She died in 1904, leaving a daughter, Dorothy Louise Myers, who survives him.
His Wife Survives
Also surviving is Mrs. Eleanor Sheldon Myers, to whom Dr. Myers was married Aug. 19, 1922.
Prominent in state and national medical circles, Dr. Myers was a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Medical Association and a councilor of the 14th district for the State Medical Society. He was also a member of the Washtenaw Medical Society, the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology, the American Institute of Homeopathy, Theta Kappa Psi, and Alpha Sigma.
Dr. Myers was a former president of the Ann Arbor City Council, president of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, member of the Ann Arbor Board of Education and chairman of the Washtenaw County Democratic Committee. He had been president of the U-M Alumni Club of Ann Arbor.
He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church here, having served two separate terms. He had been a member of the local church since coming here as a student in 1894. He had lived in Ann Arbor since 1894 with the exception of four years from 1903 to 1907 when he opened a private practice in Grand Rapids.
Held Masonic Posts
He was also a member of several Masonic organizations and a lifetime member of the Ann Arbor commandery of the Knights Templar, the Golden Rule Lodge 159 and the Washtenaw chapter RAM No. 6.
Dr. Myers originated many methods of eye surgery, among them being the removal of metal objects from the eye by means of electromagnetism. He was the first surgeon to employ that method in the United States.
Dr. Myers was graduated from Muir High School, the University and the old Homeopathic Medical School. He also took postgraduate studies here.
Was Avid Golfer
In addition to professional interests, Dr. Myers was an avid golfer and, with a few associates, helped lay out the old first nine holes of Ann Arbor’s first golf course, the Barton Hills course. He held the distinction of being the first golfer to score a hole-in-one at the course.
He lived here with his wife at Hildene Manor, 2220 Washtenaw Rd.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the First Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Dr. William P. Lemon and the Rev. Henry Kuizenga will officiate.
Friends may call at the Muehlig Funeral Home Tuesday afternoon and evening. The family has asked that flowers be omitted.