William Albert Yancey MD

William A. "Bill" Yancey, MD

Feb. 2, 1922 to Jan. 4, 2014

Dr. Bill Yancey passed away at Sharp Coronado Hospital on January 4, 2014. He was born in Davenport, Iowa to Dr. William Paul Yancey and Lydia Cenac. Bill's father, a physics teacher who studied in the Jesuit seminary, was a descendant of early American colonial settlers from Wales. His mother’s family consisted of French oyster fishermen who settled in Terrebonne parish, Louisiana. They met at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, La. while William Paul was a patient and Lydia was his nurse.

When Bill was two years old, his father died suddenly. His mother raised Bill, Ernest and Marion in southern Louisiana with her family. His Uncle Jock Cenac helped support the family. Bill graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and the Louisiana State University Medical School, and completed postgraduate study at Tulane University, Wayne University, and the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the US Army in the Cavalry, then as a Public Health Officer in Nagasaki, Japan following World War II. Upon returning to the states, he remained in the Army Reserve Medical Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel until 1965.

While he was an intern at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, Bill met a nursing student , Colleen Dolan. They married, had four children, and settled in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego. He practiced ophthalmology for over 35 years, served on the staff of area hospitals, UCSD Medical School and published several medical papers. He remained active in the San Diego community throughout his life as a member of many local charities and social clubs including, Father Joe's Mission, Boy Scouts of America, The San Diego Yacht Club, San Diego Tennis Club, San Diego Maritime Museum, and San Diego Swing Dance Club. He loved boats, dancing, and tennis.

He is survived by his sister, Marion Landry; four children: William Yancey, Jr., John Paul Yancey, Barbara Franklin, and Mark Yancey; three granddaughters: Emily Franklin, Erin Bokhoven, and Krista Yancey; and two great-grandsons, Logan Bokhoven and Blake Bokhoven.

A military honors ceremony for Bill will be at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at noon on Jan 31, 2014