Obituary of Billy Paul Loughridge, M.D.
Billy Paul Loughridge, MD was born April 19, 1935 in Ardmore, OK to Elizabeth (Shorter) and William Floyd Loughridge. He passed from this life Monday, August 28, 2023 at the age of 88.
Growing up in Ardmore, he was a determined, if not overly talented athlete who lettered in football, became a Golden Gloves boxer and even an amateur bull rider. His grit and determination sparked a desire to find his passion. Graduating from Ardmore High School in 1953, he entered the University of Oklahoma at Norman, intending to become a physician.
While completing his undergraduate studies, he became a valued member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and worked as a dish washer and server in exchange for room and board. Some four decades later he would be honored as a “Significant Sig” for his lifetime achievements.
In 1957 he received his degree in Sociology with minors in both chemistry and zoology. He would later be the first graduate to hold a Fulbright Fellowship for study abroad. Focused on his ultimate goal, he was accepted to the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in Oklahoma City and was able to finance his education with loans from the Kellogg Foundation washing glassware by night at the Research Foundation and working as an exterminator for a pest control company to pay the bills. He completed medical school in 1961 and shortly after, he married Linda Faye Harrell.
Following his graduation from medical school, “BP” was appointed as an intern at the University of Texas Medical Center in Galveston, followed by four years as a general surgical resident. He then received a fellowship from the NIH (National Institute of Health) to conduct cardiovascular research. As a Fulbright Scholar, he was led to Sweden, where his works with liver disease and advancements in liver regeneration were unprecedented.
Upon return from Sweden, he moved to Syracuse, NY where he served as a Senior Resident in Thoracic Surgery at the State of New York Upstate Medical University. There he worked with the renowned thoracic surgeon, Dr. Watts Webb. After an intensive year of study, BP moved back to Tulsa and joined Cardiovascular Surgery Inc., an innovative cardiovascular practice.
BP practiced cardiovascular surgery in Tulsa from 1967 until his retirement in 1998, performing over 10,000 surgeries. He also taught in medical schools, wrote three books, and served as an expert witness in numerous legal cases requiring his expertise.
Beyond his medical practice, he was involved in numerous charitable, scientific, and cultural institutions as a donor, board member, trustee, and officer. As one to improve lives, BP was a proponent of his friends, companions, and those he admired greatly. He always stood true to his mission: to learn, to share and improve himself and others.
BP was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Floydena Elizabeth; and his wife of over 50 years, Linda Faye (Harrell) Loughridge.
BP is survived by daughter, Laurie (Loughridge) Wollmershauser, her husband, Matt and their three children, Justin and his wife, Brittany and their son, Charlie Bill, Tyler and his wife, Hannah and their daughter, Jillian, and Bailey; daughter, Lisa (Loughridge) Olsen and her husband, Eivind and their two children, Gunnar and Talle; daughter, Amy Loughridge and her husband, Jay Acquaviva with stepsons, Joseph and James. BP is also survived by his dear companion, Dindy Foster.
A celebration of life will be held 2:00 pm Thursday, September 28 at First Presbyterian Church, with a reception to follow.
Donations in Dr. BP’s memory and honor can be made to the American Heart Association, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) or John 3:16 Mission.
An excerpt from one of his many poems:
“I stand on the threshold to choose whom I’ll be
With hope and desire, I look to the choice
And know that I know, it is all up to me
To be who I’ll be, by hearing God’s voice.”
-BPL