Dr. James "Red" Duke, Jr., founder of Life Flight helicopter ambulance system passed away Tuesday at the age of 86, USA Today reported.
Duke died from natural causes at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.
His family announced his passing with a statement issued by Geo. H. Lewis & Sons funeral directors.
"To countless colleagues, friends and patients, he was a skilled physician, innovative healthcare provider, exceptional communicator and dedicated conservationist," the statement said. "We, however, mourn him as a caring father, grandfather and devoted brother who will be deeply missed by his family."
"It was Duke's colorful, country-boy style that captured the public imagination—the trademark bushy mustache, chewing tobacco habit and Texas twang. He dressed in faded jeans, bolo ties and cowboy hats, called most everyone Bud or Babe and spoke in a vernacular known as Duke-isms. "It ain't the fall that's so bad," he'd say, crusading against preventable injuries. "It's the sudden stop that hurts."
Duke was a trauma surgeon who attended medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas. During his training, he treated then-Texas Gov. John Connally for a gunshot wound after Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John Kennedy. Connally had been sitting near Kennedy in the limo, and it is said Duke saved his life.
In 1972, Duke joined UT’s new medical school and helped lead the program to become one of the nation’s busiest trauma centers. During this time, Duke discovered the potential of the helicopter landing pad that could be used to transport emergency patients.
This idea became Life Flight, an air ambulance service that is located across the country.