William James Mayo

Early years

William James Mayo was born to William Worrall Mayo and his wife Louise in Le Sueur, Minnesota, in his parents' home. As a child, William and his brother Charles frequently accompanied their father as he went about his business as a pioneer physician. They began by helping out with very menial tasks, and were gradually given more responsibility. Eventually, the boys were administering anesthesia and tying off blood vessels.

One night at the age of 16, Will accompanied his father to an abandoned hotel where one of the elder Mayo's patients worked as the caretaker. The patient had just died and Mayo was going to perform an autopsy. Will stood by and watched the procedure and after about an hour, it was time to go to another patient's home. Mayo asked his son to stay behind and clean up. "Sew up the incisions and then tuck the sheet around the corpse. When you finish, go right home." Will nervously began to stitch up the incisions on the body and recounted the incident many years later saying, "I'm about as proud of the fact that I walked out of there, instead of ran, as of anything else I ever made myself do".

Education and career

Mayo earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1883, where he became a founder of Nu Sigma Nu Medical Fraternity. Afterwards he returned to Rochester to practice medicine alongside his father and his brother Charles.

On August 21, 1883, a tornado struck Rochester, killing 29 people and seriously injuring over 55 others. One-third of the town was destroyed, but young Will and his family escaped serious harm. The relief efforts began immediately with a temporary hospital being established at the town's dance hall. The Mayo brothers were extensively involved in treating the injured who were brought there for help. Mother Alfred Moes and the Sisters of Saint Francis were called in to act as nurses (despite the fact they were trained as teachers and had little if any medical experience).

After the crisis had subsided, Mother Alfred Moes approached William Worrall Mayo about establishing a hospital in Rochester. On September 30, 1889, Saint Mary's Hospital opened. W.W. Mayo, 70 years old, became the consulting physician and surgeon at the hospital, and his two sons began seeing patients and performing surgery with the assistance of the Sisters of Saint Francis.

William J. Mayo married Hattie Marie Damon (1864–1952) in 1884. They had 5 children, two of whom survived infancy. Carrie born in 1887 and Pheobe in 1897 both married physicians at the Mayo Clinic.

He died in July 1939 of gastric carcinoma (stomach cancer) in Rochester, Minnesota. That type of tumor had been a major focus of his surgical practice. Mayo is buried with his family members near his parents and brother at Oakwood Cemetery in Rochester.

The United States Postal Service printed a stamp depicting him and his brother, Charles Horace Mayo, on September 11, 1964.

Will's father and his brother Charles H. Mayo were prominent Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, and members of Rochester Lodge #21. Will petitioned the lodge but his medical practice and time with his family did not allow him the time to join the fraternity.

The Dr. William J. Mayo House in Rochester is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.