LaMar Wyse '68 came home. The Hartville native had finished high school and gone away for his first year of college, but family reasons brought him home to deal with a difficult situation. Back in Northeast Ohio, his path to a degree now went through Malone University where he pursued his love of music and explored his interest in health care.

“I considered myself pre-med when I started at Malone,” said Wyse. “But I had been involved with music as a child and I met professors like Bob Peterson and Don Murray. They both taught me so many life lessons, far beyond music. They cared about me as a person and mentored me—these are gifts I could never repay.”

Wyse switched to music as a major in his junior year and earned his degree in 1968. Inspired by his interest in health care, and armed with his Malone experience and a graduate degree in health administration from The Ohio State University, Wyse began a career that eventually included serving as one of the most respected hospital CEOs in Ohio.

“I have been blessed with good analytical skills and am able to quickly assess the culture of an organization,” said Wyse. “Those skills shaped my path and I was recruited several times into positions where I helped lead failing hospitals to stability. I was able to connect with people, identify their strengths and the hospital’s identity, and lead the organization back to fiscal health.”

After several stops in Indiana and Ohio and a 2007 diagnosis of prostate cancer, Wyse retired from full-time work.

“The diagnosis was a wake-up call and an opportunity for me to examine my priorities,” he said.

It led him to start his own company, WyseSolutions, through which he provided consulting and interim leadership to hospitals. For his lifetime of service to Ohio’s hospitals and communities, Wyse was honored by the Ohio Hospital Association with its highest leadership award. The honor included commendations from the Ohio House and Senate.

Throughout his career, LaMar kept a passionate focus on his family and in music. He and his wife, Karon ’69, met at Malone. “I was her accompanist for voice lessons—she employed me, but I don’t recall ever getting paid,” joked Wyse.

They have two grown sons, both teachers, six grandchildren, and recently celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary.

A passion for music began at age five and continues today as Wyse frequently plays organ and piano in churches within central and northern Ohio. “Music has given me a creative outlet,” said Wyse. “And in the communities I’ve served, it’s an opportunity for me to give back in a manner that has nothing to do with my day job. I can share my musical gifts which provides an additional connection for me, and, indirectly, for the local hospital.”

The Wyses continue to support Malone. A former Alumni Board president, he now serves as a member of the Board of Trustees and has been a donor to the Malone Fund and the Steinway component of the A Bolder Vision campaign. LaMar and Karon are members of Malone’s Heritage Society, which recognizes alumni and friends who include Malone in their estate plans.

“I’ll admit to being distant from Malone for a period,” said Wyse. “But I’ve reconnected because we are so impressed with what Malone is doing under David King’s leadership. We are pleased to help make it possible with our support.”