Dr. James Rogers Hayward
World-renowned oral surgeon Dr. James Rogers Hayward died May 20 in Naples, Fla. He was 91.
During a distinguished career at the School of Dentistry and the Medical School, Hayward trained 83 residents in oral surgery and was known as an extraordinarily gifted surgeon who demanded knowledge, preparation, and excellence in clinics and classrooms, colleagues say.
The son of a dentist, Dr. Roy G. Hayward (Class of 1911), James R. Hayward earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the School of Dentistry in 1944 and a master’s degree in oral surgery three years later. In 1943 he married Dr. Jane Slocum, a U-M dental graduate.
A clinical instructor as a graduate student, Hayward later was an assistant professor who taught at the School of Dentistry while maintaining a private practice in Detroit. During the Korean War, he headed oral surgery and assisted in the facial restoration of wounded soldiers with the U.S. Army Dental Corps in Colorado Springs.
Following the death of Dr. John Kemper, the school’s chair of the Department of Oral Surgery, Hayward was invited to become department chair in 1952. Four years later, he became a professor of dentistry and in 1963, a professor of dentistry in surgery at the Medical School. He directed oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Department of Hospital Dentistry at the University Hospitals and the Cleft Palate Project.
Throughout his career, Hayward helped develop oral surgery training standards and served as president of various oral surgery academies, associations and boards. He published more than 175 journal articles, book chapters and a textbook.
Hayward retired in 1982 but continued working part time as an oral surgeon with his former resident, Dr. Peter Mestnik, in Marquette, Mich., during the summer and at the VA Hospital in Ft. Myers, Fla., during the winter. He also participated in medical mission trips to perform cleft lip surgeries to help children. His last visit to U-M was in June 2009 as graduation speaker for the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Hayward was married for 67 years to Jane Louise Slocum (DDS 1943) prior to her death in January 2011. He is survived by sons Dr. James S. Hayward (DDS 1973), who directed the Marquette County Health Department’s dental clinics in Marquette, and Ralph of Whitmore Lake; daughter Martha Hayward Sparks (DH 1973) of Edisto Island, S.C.; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
The family requests that any memorials be made to the Hayward Professorship Fund at the School of Dentistry. Make checks payable to the University of Michigan and mail to the Office of Development, 540 E. Liberty, Suite 204, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Please note “Hayward Professorship” on the check memo line.
Hayward’s son, Dr. James S. Hayward, said, “I would like to thank all his professional colleagues and friends at the school and the community for their concern and especially their friendship and support that meant so much to dad over these many years.”
— Submitted by Jerry Mastey, School of Dentistry
