David Ashburn, M.D. – His role in life was to be a healer

David Ashburn, M.D., 35, of Dexter, joined the University of Michigan in 2005 as a resident in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. He was planning to begin a fellowship at U-M in pediatric cardiovascular surgery in July.

Ashburn was born and raised in Bristol, Tennessee, a community about 100 miles northeast of the Smoky Mountains. He received his bachelor of science degree in 1993 from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

In 1998, he graduated from Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. He then completed an internship and residency in general surgery at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 2003, he finished a two-year congenital heart surgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children, the research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. He then served as chief resident at Wake Forest's Bowman Gray campus from 2004-05 and began his residency at U-M in 2005.

He was the kind of man who hung his Eagle Scout certificate as proudly as his medical diplomas, which he earned with distinction. He was confident – and complex – enough to list among his interests on his resume cardiothoracic surgery and wild turkey hunting. And he was the kind of surgeon whose keen intellect, quiet compassion and skilful hands worked together in a symphony.

“He was a very outgoing, fun-loving, enthusiastic young man who was looking forward to a bright future,'' said Michael Deeb, M.D., director of the Multidisciplinary Aortic Clinic. “David always felt that his role in life was to be a healer.''

Richard Chenault II – Knowledgeable, compassionate

Chenault was so influential in the transplant arena that in 2006 he received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ distinguished Medal of Honor for his efforts to increase organ donation at U-M. He was part of a team that helped U-M achieve an organ donation rate of more than 75 percent, establishing the University as one of the leading transplant centers in the nation. 

Chenault attended Spring Arbor College, where he majored in chemistry, and transferred to Eastern Michigan University, where he majored in microbiology with a concentration in clinical microbiology and public health. In college, he was a member of the Beta Beta Beta professional biology fraternity and Phi Beta Sigma, where he served as president, treasurer and chaplain.

An All-American in both the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the National Christian College Athletic Association, for 18 years he shared his love of sports with hundreds of students whom he coached in girls’ track and cross-country at Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor.

Richard Pietroski, chief operating officer, Gift of Life Michigan, says, “Richard wore many hats – as a minister providing solace to families at the time of their loss, as an educator erasing myths about donation among the public; and as a clinical expert training the vast majority of University team members on the finer points of donation/transplant.”

Ricky LaPensee – Driven by his passion to be of service to mankind

Ricky LaPensee, 48, of Van Buren Township, joined the U-M Transplant Program as a part-time transplant donation specialist in 2005. LaPensee was born and raised in Belleville, Michigan, and worked for the Van Bureau Fire Department and General Motors Corporation in Security/Fire Protection before joining the Ypsilanti Fire Department in 1993.

Lt. Mike Kouba, who worked on the same shift as LaPensee, said the U-M job combined LaPensee’s passions: aviation and helping people.

“Whenever there was a flight, he wanted to go,” Kouba says. “It was the best of both worlds. It combined medical care and helping people with getting to fly planes.”

Ricky LaPensee knew at the age of three that he wanted to be a firefighter, donning a plastic fire hat and saying, “Gotta go,” each time the fire station across the street from his home would sound its alarms. One of his first jobs in high school was as a lifeguard – beginning his lifetime career of helping others.

After obtaining an associate’s degree in fire science from Washtenaw Community College, LaPensee graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a B.S. in public safety. He was pursuing a master’s degree in emergency management at EMU.

A quick-witted prankster who collected model fire trucks and loved flying radio-controlled model planes, he filled his barn with the model airplanes he created with his sons. A devoted son himself, he called his parents every day.

He talked all the time with his fellow fire fighters about his work for U-M, where he hoped to work full-time when he retired from fire fighting. As a former Transplant Center co-worker wrote on the UMHS condolence site, “He was totally driven by his passion to be of service to mankind.”

Martinus (Martin) Spoor, M.D.  – A lifetime of compassion, humor, talent and selflessness

Martin Spoor was born in Media, Pennsylvania, on March 14, 1970, and moved to Holland with his parents at age one. When he was six years old, his family moved to Calgary, Canada. He excelled at school, and started playing violin. He decided at age eight that he wanted to be a doctor and insisted that his Snoopy doll be addressed as “Doctor.” At age 12, he decided to be a heart surgeon and never looked back at any other calling or occupation.

Spoor worked as a counselor for several years in the Rocky Mountains where his job was hiking, swimming, horseback-riding and conducting canoeing trips with six- to 16-year-olds. He so loved the camping experience and the children he worked with that he even went winter camping with them in minus 20 degree weather.

He met his wife Susan on the first day of his second year of University of Calgary medical school, and introduced her to the mountains. They skied, hiked, camped, listened to music, studied and fell in love.

Spoor graduated in May 1995 and moved to Edmonton to start his cardiac surgery residency while Susan finished medical school. A few days after her graduation, they got married in the Rocky Mountains.

Despite his very busy clinical and research commitments, friends and family alike describe Spoor as a natural, gentle, fun, loving father. He would do whatever needed to be done to be at his three children’s preschool graduations, music recitals, school presentations, sports games and bedtimes, and he was the official “runner” as each child learned to bike.

Stories abound from a lifetime of compassion, enthusiasm, talent, humor and selflessness. No matter how chaotic and stressful life would become around him, he never forgot to say “please” and “thank you.” He was unflappable.

In July 2003, Martin took a fellowship position in U-M’s Department of Cardiac Surgery where he always said he felt welcomed and at home.

Dennis Hoyes – A great sense of humor, a wonderful concern for others

Dennis Hoyes, 65 and a resident of Blackman Township, was a pilot with Marlin Air, Inc., Belleville, Michigan. He worked in the insurance industry and as a professional pilot who flew executive flights on Beach Jets and King Airs aircrafts. Hoyes flew the Survival Flight Cessna periodically for 10 years.

“Dennis was a great individual, dedicated to flying with more than 4,000 hours in the air and an excellent track record. He just preferred to fly and really enjoyed flying for Survival Flight,” says Stu Dingman, owner of Marlin Air, Inc.

Hoyes also was an adjunct faculty member in aviation at Jackson Community College, served on the College’s aviation advisory committee and would give flying lessons to about anyone who asked.

Hoyes was the previous owner of the Birch Insurance Agency and also owned and operated the Alf Insurance Agency. He sold his agencies to begin semiretirement in order to further pursue his love of flying.

He also worked for and operated Vector Aviation for corporate flying, and was a volunteer pilot for Wings of Mercy, which provides free air transportation to patients with limited income who need to travel far distances for medical treatment.

An avid outdoorsman who loved hunting, Hoyes relished the time he spent with his grandchildren and enjoyed taking them to Michigan State University hockey games, ice skating and on big lake fishing rips.

On the UMHS condolence page, a friend sums up what he will miss:  “his wonderful sense of humor, his loving concern for others, the great games of Euchre.”

Bill Serra – Touched the lives of everyone he met

William Serra, or Bill as his colleagues call him, was Marlin Air’s chief pilot and check airman responsible for ensuring that Marlin Air pilots are proficient in in-house instructing, and for performing IFR checks to ensure pilots are skilled in instrument-only landings. Friends and colleagues remember the 59-year-old Macomb Township resident as a family man with a wry sense of humor who enjoyed his work and would go out of his way to help people.

Serra became a pilot shortly after serving in the U.S. military. With more than 12,000 hours of flight under his belt as a full-time pilot, including flying DC8s and 747s, he had a long track record of accomplishments. He received the Air Medal from the President of the United States for outstanding achievements while participating in aerial flights, and the 1993 Air Force Desert Storm and Desert Shield award as a civilian pilot for supplying materials and ammunition during Desert Storm.

In an interview with the Detroit News, Serra’s son, William Serra Jr., said, “He touched the lives of everybody he met and he just cared for people. That’s how he would have liked to be remembered.”