Cecil Meares Obituary

Cecil H.
Meares, M.D., FACS
AIKEN, SC - Cecil H. Meares, M.D., FACS, 90, died Sunday, November 23, 2014.
Born December 13, 1923 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, he was a son of Cecil H. and Myrtle Meares. Dr. Meares is survived by his wife Norma of the home; a daughter and son-in-law, Julie and David Hughes of North Augusta, SC; a son, Scott Meares of Ft. Worth, TX; a granddaughter and her husband, Courtney and Richard Farris, of Charlotte, NC; two great-grandchildren, Jacob and Abby Farris of Charlotte, NC; and a sister, Iris Eby of Stillwater, OK. In addition to his parents, Dr. Meares was preceded in death by a brother, James Meares.
Dr. Meares graduated from Muskogee, Okla. High School in 1941 and attended A & M College in Stillwater, Okla. until he entered the Army during World War II in 1943. He was on a ship headed toward the war zone when the war ended. He was discharged in 1946.
Dr. Meares graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1948 and the University of Oklahoma Medical School in 1952. He interned at Denver General Hospital in Denver, Colorado. He did his Residency in anesthesia at University Hospital in Okla. City, OK, and practiced in Joplin, Mo. He later completed a 5 years residency in General Surgery at the Baroness Erlanger's Hospital in Chattanooga, TN and a Thoracic Surgery Residency at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. He practiced General and Cardiothoracic Surgery in Wichita Falls, TX until his retirement in 1988.
He was an avid golfer, loved flying his Cessna airplane and riding his Honda Goldwing motorcycle. After retirement, he did volunteer work for the Indian Agency, the Historical Society of Okla. City and numerous other endeavors. He loved to write letters and completed his autobiography with the help of letters his mother had saved from him from the time he entered the service in 1943 until her death in 1990. He had several articles printed in magazines. Being 1/4 Creek Indian, he was chosen for a part in the Jim Thorpe movie that was filmed in his home town of Muskogee, Okla. He loved riding the bus with the stars, Burt Lancaster and Phyllis Thaxter.
Dr. Meares was a member of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Greenville, SC. He loved music, played both the piano and organ and in later years he learned to play the guitar. He always sang in the church choirs. His last request was to have classical music played in his room.
His thirst for knowledge was always there, always striving to learn something new after he felt he had mastered something. He served three residences after medical school and was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was board certified in surgery. After retiring, he went back to college as a freshman to study agriculture. Dr. Meares did a lot of writing and was still taking correspondence courses in writing until he could no longer use the computer.
Private family services are planned for a later date. His ashes are to be sprinkled from an airplane over the Kiamichi Mountains in eastern Oklahoma per his request.
GEORGE FUNERAL HOME, 211 PARK AVE., SW, AIKEN, SC 29801.
Expressions of sympathy may be left by visiting
www.georgefuneralhomes.com