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Birth:          25 Mar 1911 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah
Death:          22 Sep 1977 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah
Cause of Death: heart ailment
Burial:         26 Sep 1977 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah (cremated)

Notes
familysearch
1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah
appears to have been a physician and surgeon in Salt Lake City; wrote articles
findagrave, ashes scattered in Grand Teton Mountains
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=35620573&nid=1012
Courtesy of Paul McDaniels
Utah inventions: A surgeon who used kitchen utensils to save lives
SALT LAKE CITY — In Salt Lake City in the year 1911, William Ray Rumel was born. 

This boy was raised as a hard worker on the family dairy farm. While many youth may 
learn the importance of hard work from their parents, this young man took those 
lessons to a higher level than many might. The consequence? Thoracic surgery as we 
know it was born. 

Rumel studied medicine at the University of Utah and Northwestern University in 
Chicago while participating in other activities like wrestling and orchestra. It was in 
Chicago that he chose to specialize in chest surgery. From 1938 to 1940, after 
finishing his residency, he worked at the Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts with Dr. 
Richard Overholt, who inspired him to continue with his chosen field. 
In 1940, Rumel and his wife returned to Utah, where Rumel took up the challenge of 
further developing Utah's thoracic field. He launched the country's first thoracic 
cardiovascular hospital unit in Salt Lake City and performed many surgeries that no 
doctor in Utah or the Intermountain West had yet executed — so many that they will not 
all be listed in this article. However, one in particular deserves special mention: his 
mitral valve repair, which was first performed in 1951.
Mitral valve replacement was risky. But something had to be done — rheumatic fever, 
common in the Intermountain West during this time, often led to mitral valve stenosis, 
which is when the mitral valve doesn't open wide enough. Rumel's solution was 
innovative. 

To perform the procedure, Rumel first cut an incision in the heart muscle. Then he 
punctured the scar tissue using a small knife — a knife he made from a metal tea 
infuser and attached to his fingernail. Finally, he used his finger to finish parting the 
opening. The mitral valve then pushed out. The surgery was so successful that he 
was able to repair a pregnant woman's mitral valve, which no one else in the United 
States had done. This successful procedure was a huge breakthrough for heart 
surgery. And to think it was done with a tea infuser. 

It may be hard to believe, but Rumel actually made many surgical instruments using 
kitchen tools and other innovative materials. Not only that, but he would build at least 
some of these instruments in his home workshop. His instruments include Utah's first 
defibrillator, the Rumel Dissecting Forceps, and the Rumel Myocardial Clamp. 
And last but not least: the Rumel Auricular Tourniquet, which is still used to control 
bleeding and tension during surgery. 

If his surgical accomplishments weren't enough, Rumel started the American Board of 
Thoracic Surgery and the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Among other 
appointments and honors, he was an honorary member of the Academy of 
Anesthesiology and fellow of Medici Public, which is the most prestigious honor given 
to alumnus at the University of Utah Medical School. 

Rumel was a very busy man. But despite his intellectual ambition Rumel took time for 
his family and other activities. In an email correspondence, his grandson Paul 
McDaniels stated, "My grandfather has always been my hero. To us he was 'Grandpa 
Ray' and he really loved all of his kids and grandkids." 
He even let his grandkids see his workshop. 
"His workshop was always where I wanted to play," his grandson wrote. "He had the 
coolest stuff in there and that's where he would make most of his prototype surgical 
instruments." 

Rumel's other interests included hunting, fishing, camping and traveling. 

Rumel may have died in 1977 from heart-related complications, but his legacy lives on 
and his innovations continue to bless the world of medicine. As his grandson said, 
"We really do stand on the shoulders of giants —people that think and do things that 
literally change our world while we're busy living our daily lives." 

For more information on Rumel, see an article published in "The World Journal of 
Surgery" entitled "Who Was William Ray Rumel?" by David R. Welling, Norman M. 
Rich, David G. Burris, Kenneth D. Boffard, and William C.DeVries (September 2008, 
32.9), as well as his obituary. 
obit 23 Sep 1977 Salt Lake Tribune

Parents
RUMEL Stephen Henry (7 Sep 1887 - 11 Apr 1958)
KNIGHTON Mary Ethel (18 Sep 1885 - 11 Nov 1957)

Siblings
RUMEL Harold Stephen ("Hal") (21 Feb 1909 - 19 Mar 1980)
RUMEL William Ray (25 Mar 1911 - 22 Sep 1977)
RUMEL Dale Keith (5 Sep 1913 - 26 Nov 1932)

Marriage To DAUGHERTY Evangeline Ruth (29 Nov 1913 - 12 Jul 1978)
    m. 26 Aug 1938 Chicago, Cook Co., Ill.

Notes

Parents
DAUGHERTY Beryl Joseph ()
ZWINK Louisa Lydia ()

Children by DAUGHERTY Evangeline Ruth 29 Nov 1913 - 12 Jul 1978
RUMEL Barbara (21 Sep 1940 - 27 Oct 2001)
RUMEL Beverly Jane (29 Sep 1941 - 2 Mar 2015)
RUMEL Steven Ray ()
RUMEL William Dale ()

Marriage To CARPENTER Marian (2 Oct 1917 - 4 Jun 2000)
    m. 11 Mar 1964 Twin Falls, Id.

Notes

Parents
CARPENTER Lewis ()
PACK Martha ()

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