MAYBE, DR. JOSEPH FORD, June 11, 1919 – April 4, 2008

Dr. Joseph Ford Mabey, a retired physician and longtime New Orleans resident, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Friday, April 4, 2008. He was 88 years old.

Dr. Mabey was born on June 11, 1919 in Centerville, Utah to Orson Henry Mabey and Esther Marie Ford. He was educated at the University of Utah and later at Temple University’s School of Medicine, where he completed medical school in just three years so that he could serve his country during World War II. Dr. Mabey enlisted in the Army and served in the trauma center at the 61st General Hospital outside of Oxford, England.

Following the war, he moved to New Orleans and became one of Alton Ochsner’s first surgical residents. He completed his residency in 1950. Following his training, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi and joined the staff at Baptist Hospital.

In 1951 he married Frances Hammond Gordon. They soon moved to Malad, ID where he joined his father serving as the town’s family practitioner. There they had three children; Melanie, Monique and Joe. Dr. Mabey continued as the town physician for the next 16 years.

In 1967, Dr. Mabey returned to New Orleans and to Ochsner Foundation Clinic after being recruited by Dr. Merrill Hines. Over the next 20 years he ran Ochsner’s Emergency Room and was a great innovator in treating patients in the burn unit. He established Ochsner’s occupational medicine program and later began clinics at Union Carbide, Waterford and Avondale. In 1988 he retired from Ochsner and became Avondale’s on-site physician in the Medical Department. He remained in that role until he retired from medicine at the age of 82.

Dr. Mabey devoted his life to medicine. Even after he retired, he continued to have an avid interest in medical advances and in the quest for what “remains to be discovered”. His favorite charities included: M.D. Anderson, where he was named to the Century Club; Stanford Hospital; and Ochsner for which he was honored in May, 2007 with the title of Doctor of Philanthropy for his contributions. He was a humble philanthropist, an avid reader with a wide variety of interests, and a food connoisseur. He held a true love for the City of New Orleans-for the culture, the food, and the wellbeing of its residents.

Dr. Mabey will forever be remembered for his generosity and kind spirit. He had tremendous character and touched the lives of everyone he encountered.

He is survived by a brother, Rex Garn Mabey, MD of Saint George, UT; his daughter, Monique Ford Mabey, MD of San Francisco, CA; his son, Joseph Ford Mabey, Jr. and his daughter-in-law Beth Ludlum Mabye of New Orleans, LA; and granddaughter, Courtney Hammond Pieczynski of Washington, DC.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances Gordon Mabey; sister, Jean Mabey Barker; brother Orson Henry Mabey, Jr., MD; and daughter Melanie Hammond Mabey.

Dr. Mabey was laid to rest in Anniston, Alabama at a private service with family and friends.