OBIT: Tributes to respected Wakefield doctor, Ron Mulroy, who has passed away aged 88

Dr Ron Mulroy was a GP at Chapelthorpe Surgery, Hall Lane for over 30 years and also worked at Pontefract and Pinderfields hospitals.

Tributes have been paid to a much-loved and hugely-respected former Wakefield doctor, who died recently.

Dr Ron Mulroy was a GP at Chapelthorpe Surgery, Hall Lane for over 30 years and also worked at Pontefract and Pinderfields hospitals.

Fittingly, he died under the care of the NHS – at Pinderfields hospital - aged 88 following a short illness.

Dr Mulroy was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1935 and studied medicine in Edinburgh, where he met his wife Julie, who died in 2020.

Dr Mulroy served the Kettlethorpe, Crigglestone and Painthorpe communities throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

They have eight children, 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Fortunately, the eight siblings, Rebecca, Dominic, Lucy, Andrew, Anna, Emma, Joe and Sophie, were able to be with him when he passed.

“We would like to express our gratitude for those who looked after Dad at Pinderfields Hospital,” said Dominic on behalf of the family.

“He would have been proud of the care, compassion and dedication they showed him during his final days. We will all miss him, but it is comforting to know just how much so many people thought of him.”

The family have been inundated with cards and messages of condolence, with many former patients taking to social media to express their huge affection for Dr Mulroy, who served the Kettlethorpe, Crigglestone and Painthorpe communities throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

He passed the membership examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1973 and was elected to the Fellowship in 1978. He received the Yorkshire Award in 1996.

Dr Mulroy also did a lot of work for the Younger Disabled Unit in Wakefield, and was an active member of the parish of St Peter and Paul. For many years, he led the parish’s annual pilgrimage to Lourdes.

After his retirement, he studied History at The University of Leeds, graduating with a First Class Honours Degree in 2002.

In 2006, he published a book entitled ‘Once a Doctor’, which charts his life as a Wakefield GP. A candid, humorous and very personal story of his life and work with patients in the local area.

Throughout his life, he loved gardening and entertaining, or being entertained by, family and friends.

He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

His funeral will take place at St Peter and St Paul’s church at 11.30am on July 5.