Breckinridge-Bourbon County KyArchives Obituaries.....HATFIELD, William D. November 14, 1993
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Peggy Russell meemawpeg7@gmail.com July 13, 2018, 3:27 pm

Breckinridge County Herald-News, Wednesday, November 17, 1993
OBITUARY

WILLIAM HATFIELD, M.D., RESPECTED IRVINGTON DOCTOR, DIES AT AGE 72

     William D. HATFIELD, M.D., who served the Irvington community as a family 
physician for 21 years, died at 3:15 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 14, 1993, at 
his Irvington residence following a lengthy illiness.  He was 72 years old.  Dr. 
HATFIELD began his Irvington practice in 1959, and retired as a full-time 
physician in 1980 after suffering a stroke.
     Dr. HATFIELD began his medical career in January 1941 when he joined the 
U.S. Army.  He was serving in a National Guard unit while attending Eastern 
Kentucky University.  He was in the 101st Airborne medical corps, working at a 
MASH unit behind the front lines in France during World War II.  On D-Day while 
in France, Dr. HATFIELD'S unit set up a surgical hospital in an old castle.  The 
Germans bombed the castle, and as the soldiers ran out to the motor pool, a 
delayed bomb went off.  Although Dr. HATFIELD wasn't injured, he was hospitalized 
with shell shock, said his wife, Mrs. Helen HATFIELD.
     After being released from the Army on August 1, 1945, Dr. HATFIELD entered 
the University of Kentucky where he majored in Fine Art.  His intentions were to 
become a commercial artist, concentrating on medical illustrations.  When he 
found out that the requirements for that were nearly as much as requirements for 
medical school, he changed his mind.
     "He was a good artist.  We lived in Lexington for 13 years, and he worked as 
a commercial artist doing window displays for Sears, Purcells, and designed the 
city's Christmas decorations", said Mrs. HATFIELD.
     Dr. HATFIELD went back to school for two more years, concentrating on 
science and math.  He worked at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington on the swing 
shift, and went to college classes in the mornings.  "He went to school for six 
years before beginning medical school," said Mrs. HATFIELD.  "He was perhaps the 
oldest student in his class when he began medical school at age 34," said his 
wife.  Dr. HATFIELD graduated from the University of Louisville Medical School 
and interned at St. Joseph Hospital in Louisville before setting up practice in 
Irvington on July 6, 1959.
     He was the first doctor in the HATFIELD family.  His parents, Charles Nathan 
and Golda Rose HATFIELD, lived in Bourbon County when he was born on December 10, 
1920.
     Dr. HATFIELD was a member of the Irvington Baptist Church, and served as a 
Sunday School teacher and a church trustee.  He was also an active Irvington 
resident, and for several years used his artistic talent to illustrate the 
Irvington Elementary School yearbook.  He was also a member of the American and 
Kentucky medical associations.
     In addition to his wife, Dr. HATFIELD is survived by a grandson and two 
half-sisters.
     His daughter, Robin ROGERS, died in 1987, and his sister, Rosie HEATH, died 
in March 1992.
     The funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. EST Thursday, November 18, 1993 at 
Alexander Funeral Home in Irvington with the Reverend John Duncan, officiating.  
Burial will be in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Irvington.   
     

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