Vedii Ayyildiz
Vedii Ayyildiz is one of the many U.S. immigrants’ success stories in terms of service to fellow Americans and achievement in good will toward humanity. He lived a long and worthy life, came to America with fifty dollars in his pocket and a heart full of hope. In his native country of Turkey, he was among the first generation to be educated under Kemal Ataturk, revered internationally as one of the foremost leaders of democracy in the last century. Vedii’s parents were fighters for freedom and his father rose to the office of governor several times.
This education formed Vedii’s outlook on justice, generosity, and gender equity. He received a full scholarship to Istanbul Medical School after placing in the exam ninth out of three thousand. After university, he was a medical officer in the Turkish army, where he laid the foundation for a military hospital. Following that, he spent three and a half years paying back his scholarship in central Turkey and served all at the same time as general physician, public health doctor for the whole province, coroner, and malaria control officer. Before migrating to Chicago, he began surgical residency in Istanbul. His surgical training in the U.S. included general, pathology, oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Center, and two chief residencies, the last in Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he set up a free clinic.
He became an American citizen and worked as a surgeon for two years after settling with his wife and child in Roanoke in the early sixties, a place in which he became the first immigrant to establish a solo practice in surgery, and one who integrated Burrell Memorial Hospital with diverse patients. Vedii was definitely of the tradition where doctors treated all patients the same regardless of status or finances. His surgical practice continued in the Roanoke area for thirty-five years, in which time he took call as a trauma surgeon and served as a U.VA Clinical Professor with Carillion.
After his retirement, he did several years of service in SW Virginia, and was for three years an International Liaison for Carilion Systems, bringing medical specialists from and to Roanoke and Istanbul for lectures and training. Through the years, he gave advice and support especially to young Turkish physicians. His motto was that one pays back by helping someone else. Vedii with his wife and their three children traveled to Turkey and many other countries throughout the years. They were host to diverse and creative people both young and old, relatives and strangers. He loved to entertain. Vedii was not one to brag on his own achievements, but one to be grateful. He was well-loved by those in his profession and his friends and patients—who sent him piles of letters of gratitude when he retired. He never shared them outside of the family, saying, “If I ever did anything good for somebody, let it stand for itself.”
Vedii outlived his parents: Burhan Serif and Adalet, who were born Ottomans in the European part of Turkey, and also his siblings: Nejat, Nihal, Vedat, Necla, Sedat, and Oznur, as well as his nephew Ates Oner, brother-in-law Jon D, Light and mother-in-law: Laura Gladys Light. He is survived by his wife of sixty years: Helen Judy Light Ayyildiz, his three children: Vedii Kent, K. Kamal, Karen Perihan Ayyildiz and son-in-law Myles Wallace, and grandchildren: Vedat Quinn and Elisabeth Grace Ayyildiz, and brother-in-law Alfred (Pete) Light and wife Cathy, sister-in-law: Sandra Light and her daughters, Joni Beth Light and nephew Matthew Canteberry and Jill and husband Joey Lively and daughters, Alli and Abbi, nieces Golgen and Bilgen Bengu, as well as his former daughter-in-law, Elisabeth Manuel, and his office nurse, Dena Priddy, plus many nieces and nephews both in the U. S. and Turkey. Quite simply, it is impossible to properly list those who were near and dear to Vedii and our family’s hearts, but we trust that you know our love and appreciation of you and your families are boundless.
As Vedii wanted, his ashes will be scattered to the winds above the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, from where he was launched, the Ohio River in Huntington. WV, where he began his family, and from the Mill Mountain Star overlook in Roanoke, VA, that he called home. The family plans a memorial celebration in the spring 2022 if the pandemic is over. Many thanks to the Carilion Health Care Providers who served Vedii these last years filled with old age bothers, and also to the loyal staff at Roanoke Good Samaritan Hospice. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Good Samaritan Hospice or the charity of your choice.
