Kay Herrin Lyman, MD

Kay H. Lyman, MD of Berkeley died on June 4th after a long struggle with carcinoid. Dr. Lyman is survived by her husband of 36 years, John T. Lyman, PhD, brothers Keith Herrin, DDS of Houston, TX and Robert Herrin, MD, DDS of Charlotte, NC, and step-children Robert Lyman, Geoffrey Lyman and Carolyn Phillips.

She was born Helen Kay Herrin in Gastonia, NC to Thelma Tucker Herrin and Hermon Keith Herrin, MD. She attended Gastonia High School, received her BA in chemistry from Duke University in 1964 and MD from Emory University in 1968. She (aka Kay H. Woodruff) interned and completed 1st year of internship and residency at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC, 2nd year residency and Pulmonary Pathology Fellowship from University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City 1970-1972, and Pathology Residency in Clinical Pathology from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 1972-1974. She is board certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. She was a member of the medical staff at UCSF, Children's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and Marshall Hale Hospital. From 1990 -2001 she served on the staff at Brookside Hospital (Doctor's Medical Center) in San Pablo and Pinole, CA where she was Chief of Staff among other positions. She was a consultant at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 1974-1993.

Dr. Lyman was a member of the Executive Board of the College of American Pathologists, Chair of the Counsel of Practice Management, and received the William Kuehn Award for Outstanding Communicator. She was CAP Pathologist of the Year in 2001, Trustee of the American Board of Pathology 1991-2001, President of the Board in 2001 and a Life Trustee subsequently. She was honored by the City of Richmond for her extensive efforts in smoking cessation and as a NIH trainer. She served on the Bay Area Tumor Institute Executive Board 1987- 2002, IRB Chair 2004- 2015. Alta Bates Summit Medical Foundation Board Member 2002-2016, and Oakland Museum of California Docent Natural Sciences 2004-2008.

A participating member of the Berkeley Piano Club, The Berkeley Tennis Club and the Claremont Book Club, she had served as president of all three organizations. Also she was the co-founder of the Berkeley Tennis Club Foundation. Her many interests included long distance running, long distance bicycling and performance of classical piano.

A memorial service will be held at the Berkeley Tennis Club on July 9th at 4PM. Please donate to your favorite charity in lieu of flowers.

Published in San Francisco Chronicle on June 9, 2016