This section contains memorial tributes of deceased famous members.

Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to the poorest of the poor in Calcutta had a pacemaker. "I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

Twenty-seven years after Dr. John Hopps invented the first pacemaker in 1950, he was fitted with one to regulate his heartbeat. Hopps died just before his invention was voted the Canadian engineering invention of the century.

Frances Faye was born in 1912 in Brooklyn. Frances was the consummate entertainer and was most captivating during her live performances. She was known for her energetic and swinging beat and her torch-singer vocals.
Health problems slowed her down a bit in the late ’50’s, yet she kept touring. She was back in full swing in the ’70’s but suffered a heart attack. After she received a pacemaker, Frances was back in New York in 1978, the height of the disco craze. She kept touring until 1981, when she retired. She died at the age of 79 on November 8, 1991.

Ted Williams, the last Major League baseball player to hit.400, in 1941, had a pacemaker
implanted in the fall of 2000. He had a single chamber pacemaker to treat congestive heart
failure.

Jimmy Stewart, the legendary star of 75 films including "It’s a Wonderful Life" and "The Philadelphia Story" had a pacemaker.

Dale Evans, known as the "Queen of the West", had a pacemaker. She co-starred in 35 films and several 1950s and ’60s television shows with her husband, Roy Rogers. She’s credited with writing the "Happy Trails to You" theme song that became attached to her and her husband’s work.

Izzy Asper, the colorful Canadian media baron, dead at age 71. Asper was known as a philanthropist, giving millions of dollars to universities and hospitals. He founded CanWest Global Communications and he owned dozens of newspapers.

Jack Buck, a mainstay in the Cardinals broadcast booth since 1954 and longtime sports director for KMOX radio, had a pacemaker. He also distinguished himself in other sports, including broadcasts of the Super Bowl in 1970 and from 1978 through 1984.

Bob Bullock , former Texas Lieutenant Governor, had a pacemaker. Before his operation he joked by saying; "It’s very interesting. ... Once it’s in there, you all can come in here and feel it. They tell me after they install it you can feel it under the skin."

The famous Brazilian novelist, Jorge Amado had a pacemaker. A professor of Portuguese at Columbia University once wrote the following about Jorge Amado in The New York Times Book Review: "No other Latin American writer is more genuinely admired by his peers, nor has any other exerted so great a creative influence on the course of Latin American fiction."

The Russian leader Brezhnev had a pacemaker, as far as we know was it a Medtronic 9000, the nuclear pacemaker.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi had a pacemaker. He is best known for getting Japan’s stagnant economy back on its feet after its worst recession in more than 50 years.

 At the age of 93, former United States President, Gerald Ford, had a cardiac pacemaker implanted on August 21, 2006.

Don Ho, known for his signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," had a new pacemaker implanted on September 16. "The new pacemaker has two wires instead of one, one going into each chamber of my heart," Ho is expected to resume his twice-a-week shows at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber hotel in Waikiki.