Dr. Hays, AAOM's 50th President, Passes Away at 80

We at AAOM are sad to report the death of our 50th AAOM President, Dr. Granvil L. Hays, on January 29, 2020.

Dr. Granvil Lee Hays, 80, died on 29 January 2020, in Billings, Montana. Dr. Hays achieved outstanding military and academic careers and was a member of many significant academic and prestigious honorary societies. Dr. Hays was a diplomat of the American Board of Oral Medicine and served as president of the American Academy of Oral Medicine from 1995 to 1996.

Dr. Hays spent his early years in Oklahoma and Kansas, graduating from high school in Hoisington, Kansas. He then continued his education at Northern Oklahoma College, where he majored in pre-medicine, was an honor student, a member of the football team and served as sophomore class president.

He earned his D.D.S. from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Shortly after starting his career as a dentist, he was drafted by the Army. After serving a tour of duty in Vietnam, he chose to remain in the Army Dental Corps. He served for over 20 years, retiring as colonel after serving at various duty stations, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Frankfurt, Germany, and Fort Lewis in the state of Washington. While serving in the Army, he completed a M.S. in Oral Diagnostics from the University of Michigan. Colonel Hays retired with many military honors, including the Army Medical Department's highest award for professional competence and the Combat Medical Badge.

After retiring from the Army, Dr. Hays was an associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center (Houston)s for 12 years, earning the Dean's Teaching Excellence award three times. He consulted on cancer prevention studies at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, authored two chapters in a medical textbook and authored or co-authored more than 35 professional articles. He spoke at the Oral Health Congress, White House Conference on Aging.

In 2004, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Northern Oklahoma College. He also authored "Tears of Sorrow, Tears of Joy," a historical novel set in Oklahoma Territory and "Circuitous Routes to America", the story of three men and women detailing their journeys through the war and to America.