In Memoriam: Eulogies for My Psychiatric Colleagues
Key Takeaways
- Early professional engagement and personal warmth fostered durable collaboration, beginning with a welcoming introduction before a major relocation and continuing through shared leadership in Milwaukee psychiatric services.
- Clinical leadership encompassed geriatric psychiatry and ECT, with high availability, operational reliability, and an absence of complaints despite contemporaneous controversy surrounding ECT utilization.
Remembering Donald P. Hay, MD, and other deceased psychiatric colleagues.
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS
Perhaps it is no surprise that in my columns about turning 80 years old, and in preparing for the challenges and celebrations of aging, that I recently encountered news of the recent deaths of colleagues. One I knew well personally, one I knew by reputation, and one I did not know at all, but who died before the age of 80 after an illustrious career.
Today we will focus on Dr Hay. The following day we will plan to cover the others.
Donald P. Hay, MD: A Most Welcoming Psychiatrist Colleague
It was back in the winter of 1988-1989 when I was presenting something that I no longer can recall at the annual conference on Creativity & Madness, this one in Hawaii. In a few months, we would be moving from Houston to my new job at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Right afterwards, a colleague that I did not know came up to introduce himself, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and lai, along with a big smile at that. He said that he was from Milwaukee and an officer of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association and wanted to welcome me. It was Don Hay.
It turned out that we would closely work together as I became Medical Director of St. Mary’s Hill Psychiatric Hospital in contractual association with the Medical College of Wisconsin. Given his expertise in geriatrics,1 I soon hired Don to be the director of our psychiatric geriatric ward, as well as electroconvulsive (ECT) treatment. As controversial as ECT was then, I never received a complaint about Don’s use of it. He was so reliable and available that he bought and used one of the big new cell phones that had just come out, the first I ever saw used.
After some years and changes in the psychiatric systems in Milwaukee, he moved to Indianapolis, where he worked at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Last week, in our road trip south, we went through Indianapolis going and coming back, noting once again that Eli Lilly had supported so many of the major cultural institutions there. That trip stimulated my wondering what had happened to Don. I soon found out that he had died on January 9, 2026, just before his 82nd birthday. Ever a prolific writer and presenter, he was the lead editor of a well-received book on agitation with dementia.2
In his personal life, he was devoted to family. We especially enjoyed being invited to his house for dinner. His late wife, Linda Hay, was a great cook and a helpful assistant to Don at work. He also loved to play jazz trumpet.
In his personal obituary in Carmel, Indiana from Flanner Buchanan Carmel Funeral and Cremation Services, 2 quotes particularly got my attention:
From a colleague: “Am extremely sad to hear of Don’s passing. He was a great mentor, friend and colleague. He taught me about geriatric psychiatry and always included me in his project. I am remembering his laughter and easy smile. A beautiful kind heart and spirit.”
And from his accompanying obituary: “Don was a resolute psychiatrist.” I had never heard the word resolute in regard to a psychiatrist. If that meant admirably purposeful and determined, as a dictionary defined it, that was Don as I knew him.
In the midst of this Passover holidays of remembrance, may his memory be a blessing. Perhaps, if there is an afterlife, as another psychiatric colleague has claimed from his scientific studies, Don will be the first to greet me there.2
Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specializes in the social, cultural, ethical, spiritual, and religious aspects of psychiatry, and since 2012 is in retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekdays column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He has been an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physical burnout, and xenophobia, among other social justice causes, serving on many related local and national community and professional Boards. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.
References
1. Hay D, Zayas E, Franson K.
2. Hay D, Klein D, Hay L, Grossberg G, eds. Agitation in Patients with Dementia: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Management. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc, 2003.
3. Moreira-Almeida A, de Abreu Costa M, Coelho HS. Science of Life After Death. Springer; 2022.
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