FERRIDAY — Long-time Concordia Parish surgeon Dr. Ron Gregg died early Friday morning.

Gregg, 71, was the head general surgeon at Riverland Medical Center, serving for 39 years. He began his tenure there July 12, 1974 and retired July 19, 2013.

RMC Administrator Billy Rucker said Gregg ran Riverland’s operating room department in a way that made those at Riverland enjoy working with him.

“His personality blended in well with the entire community in the Miss-Lou area, and he was made-to-fit for Riverland,” Rucker said.

The hospital dedicated its operating room to Gregg approximately a month ago, Rucker said, but kept the ceremony small because Gregg was a personal man.

“He didn’t like a lot of hoop-de-la, and he did a lot behind the scenes that people didn’t know,” Rucker said.

Former Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin said Gregg settled in Concordia Parish so he could work the earth when he wasn’t in the surgical theater.

“The man could have gone anywhere in the United States and been a surgeon,” McGlothin said. “He fell in love with Concordia Parish and the surrounding area, and he loved to farm — those were his two passions, surgery and farming.”

Shortly after his retirement, the Concordia Parish Chamber of Commerce honored Gregg as Male Concordian of the Year.

In his short acceptance speech for the award in January 2014, a visibly moved Gregg said he’d prized his life’s work in the area.

“Everything I have done in Concordia Parish for the last 40 years is because it is what I love to do,” he said at the time.

When he was awarded the Concordian of the Year, then-Chamber President Ouida Pecanty said most lifelong residents of the parish had been under — or had family members who had been under — Gregg’s care.

McGlothin was one of those. Gregg pushed him to seek a colonoscopy after an unrelated visit, and the results found cancer.

“I owe my life to that man, he is why I am here,” McGlothin said. “He did such a good job with the surgery, the other doctors couldn’t believe it, that I didn’t need more and I wouldn’t need a (colostomy) bag.”

Gregg was also an avid supporter of youth sports. Rucker said Gregg and his sons — the dentist Dr. Jarrod Gregg and veterinarian Dr. Justin Gregg — once quietly helped level out the Ferriday High School football field.

He was a fixture at the Concordia Recreation District No. 3 complex in recent years, moving between games to watch his sons coach and his grandchildren play ball.

“He taught his boys how to play, and now his grandkids,” McGlothin said. “He was just as passionate about those (grandchildren) as he was about his boys.”

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Young’s Funeral Home in Ferriday.

Burial will follow at Natchez City Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.