Prominent South Los Angeles cardiologist and community activist Dr. James Mays, who help found several support organizations, authored more than 20 books and created a masked superhero character to visit schools and give life lessons, died Aug. 21 at Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles. He was 77.
The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said his companion, Eliza Graham.
The illness slowed his pace in recent years, but he kept on working. "He was still going into his office, seeing 25 patients a day, up until three weeks before he died when I drove him to the hospital," Graham said.