Max G. Haynes, M.D. passed away last week. He was a pediatrician in Blytheville, Arkansas. I became acquainted with Dr. Haynes while he was practicing pediatrics in my hometown of West Memphis, Arkansas. I was asked to speak at his funeral and below are my remarks. His healing touch will be missed my many in Eastern Arkansas.
My first encounter with Max G. Haynes came in 1978 at the age of fourteen. My mother took me to his pediatric office in West Memphis, Arkansas because of an illness. His diagnosis, bilateral pneumonia. He was concerned about the severity, but realized that we had no medical insurance at the time. Rather than put me in the hospital, he offered to let me be treated at home so long as my mother and I followed his treatment. It was then and there, that I met Max G. Haynes, M.D., the kind doctor with a gentle heart.
In the summer of 1979, I was getting ready to be a sophomore in high school. I was working at a local car wash, when Max came in to clean his new car. We talked a little and he remembered me as a patient. I shared my interest in medicine as I cleaned out his car. A few days later, I received a phone call from Max saying that his office had a position available filing records and performing other duties. He asked if I would be interested in working part time. Since I had an interest in medicine, I eagerly went to work with Dr. Haynes at Pediatric Associates in West Memphis. This is where I first encountered, Dr. Max G. Haynes, the employer. A fair minded, caring boss, who was always interested in what was going on in the lives of the employees around him.
I worked at Pediatric Associates throughout high school and four years of college. It was during this time that I got to know Max G. Haynes, the friend. The friend who would sit and talk of his experiences in the Air Force as well as two tours as a doctor in Vietnam. A friend who would share details of his medical training at the University of Arkansas medical school. The friend who would share his experiences as a professor at the University of Arkansas med school working in hematology. Max G. Haynes was a friend who always had good advice and a kind word no matter what I was going through.
Throughout the years our friendship continued to grow. I would go on fishing trips with Max and from time to time he would ask me to travel to Blytheville. The purpose of these trips was to help with various tasks around his mother's home. We would build a shed, paint, and on other occasions, we would merely spend time with his mother, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. Mama Haynes, as his mother was so affectionately known, was an elderly lady, who had raised several children and influenced many. She was known for her southern cooking and her generous heart. It was there in the house of Mama Haynes, that I became acquainted with Max G. Haynes, the family man. A giving man who told me that he knew his mother was not going to be around forever, so he wanted to spend as much time with her and do as much for her as possible.
Max would go on to take in foster children, help others through college, and work with exchange students throughout his life. It was during the early 80's when he decided to adopt one of these foster children, Alex, to be his son. In the early eighties, it was tough for a single man to adopt a child. I remember, Max telling in great detail of the interviews, questioning, and background checks he had to go through to adopt Alex. Those of us who knew Max, knew that he would be a good father. Many of us had already experienced his generosity and kindness. Time and time again, we had been first hand recipients of his fatherly love. In the end, Max prevailed and he adopted a son.
The late tennis star Arthur Ashe, said "From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life." This one saying, perhaps, sums up the life of Max G. Haynes…the doctor, the employer, the family man, the father, and Max G. Haynes, the friend. The friend who made a life out of giving.
