Mequon resident Kenneth S. Jamron died on March 27 at age 80 from a heart attack.
Born in Worcester, Mass., served in the Navy at the end of World War II and as an officer in the Air Force during the Korean War. He came to Wisconsin from New Orleans in 1965.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston University and later received a Doctor of Humanities Degree from Lakeland College and a Sloan Foundation Grant in Health Care at Cornell University.
In the 1970s, Jamron helped spearhead the merger of Deaconess and Lutheran Hospitals, said his daughter Sherry (Robert) Pentler, of Mequon. He then became president of the new, larger hospital entity, Good Samaritan Medical Center.
He served as president for Deaconess and Good Samaritan hospitals for more than two decades, Pentler said. When he retired, he was named president emeritus of Good Samaritan, which later merged with Mt. Sinai Hospital. He also founded the Masonic Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Milwaukee.
“He was a pioneer and innovator in health care management and was considered a leader as well as maverick by colleagues, friends and foes,” his daughter said.
He was “one of the first to jump into the area of marketing,” she said, noting his paid advertising and local, weekly television program.
In addition to teaching and consulting, he liked pursuing his interest in Civil War history. He donated his collection of Civil War books to what is now the Kenneth S. Jamron Civil War Corner of the Frank L. Weyenberg Library of Mequon-Thiensville.
But his greatest joy was spending time with his grandchildren, Pentler said.
Jamron’s wife of 56 years, Carol LaBaire Jamron, died in 2007. In addition to Pentler, he is survived by son Bradd (Debbie) Jamron of Appleton; sisters Ruth Weiss of Delray Beach, Fla., and Beverly Shuman of Fort Pierce, Fla.; and four grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on March 30 in Spring Hill Cemetery. Rabbi Ronald Shapiro officiated. Blane Goodman Funeral Services handled the arrangements.
Memorial donations to the American Heart Association would be appreciated by the family.
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