Obituary of Hugh Talmage Lefler

Dr. Hugh Lefler, beloved obstetrician and gynecologist, died on September 19, 2018 following a brief illness.The family would like to thank the clergy of All Saints’ Episcopal Church for their prayers and support and the many incredible Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth medical professionals and compassionate chaplains who ministered to Hugh and the family during his illness.Hugh Talmage Lefler Jr, was born December, 1939, in Durham, NC to Hugh Talmage Lefler and Ida Ely Pinner Lefler. His entire education from kindergarten through medical school was completed in Chapel Hill, NC, where he met his future wife Connie in a UNC physics lab. He earned a BA in Psychology, and a Doctor of Medicine, both from UNC-CH. He did his Internship at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Hugh came to Fort Worth as a major in the USAF stationed at Carswell Air Force Base.Hugh began private practice in Fort Worth in 1974. When he retired in 2003, he had delivered more than 4,500 babies. He pioneered a surgical procedure giving women relief from excessive uterine bleeding, and he published his findings often in medical journals. He was a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Fort Worth Journal Club, the longest continuously existing medical journal club in Texas.A lifelong Episcopalian, Hugh was a member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church where he served as an usher for many years. He was a former member of Shady Oaks Country Club, the Fort Worth Club, and the Fort Worth Boat Club. He loved to garden and applied his talents as a Master Gardner through his volunteer work at the Samaritan House and the Perennial Garden at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. He was the incoming Chairman of the Landscape Committee at The Stayton where he lived with his wife Connie.A Tar Heel born and bred, Hugh was a loyal UNC athletics fan. North Carolina held a special place in his heart, and he enjoyed traveling back to the mountains, beaches and his hometown to visit family and friends. Hugh loved boating and spent many summer days teaching family and friends to water ski at Lake Tahoe while in college and on the family boat T‘n’T at Eagle Mountain Lake. He also loved attending his grandchildren’s sporting and performing arts events in Fort Worth and Nashville.If you knew Hugh or read the Star-Telegram Opinion Page on a regular basis, you know from his frequent Letters To The Editor that he had strong opinions on just about everything and never shied away from sharing them.Hugh is survived by his wife of 54 years, Connie Lefler; daughter, Tasa Anderson and her husband, Frank; son, Tal Lefler and his wife, Mary; grandchildren, Walker and Margaret Anderson, and Jackson, Elizabeth and Hamp Lefler; brother, Charles Lefler and his wife, Susan; brother-in-law, John Farthing Jr and his wife, Barbara; nieces and nephews, Nathan and Annie Lefler, Jason and Juli Lefler, Page and Paul Gallimore, Miriam and Kevin Stipe, John and Natalie Farthing, Ashley and Anne Smith, many extended family members and his beloved basset hound, Joanie.