Dr. Cynthia Ayers, standout physician

CYNTHIA KELLER knew from an early age that she wanted to be a doctor.

She had the full support of her mother, Zenobia Faulk Keller, a nurse. In fact, her mother each night would place a small tape recorder under Cynthia's pillow that played her mother's words of reassurance that her dream was attainable.

Whether it was her mother's nocturnal encouragement or her natural drive to succeed, Cynthia went from South Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, where she became a trailblazing physician specializing in internal medicine.

She died Wednesday of complications from a stroke she suffered in May. She was 67 and lived in Point Breeze, Pa.

Cynthia became Cynthia Ayers after marrying Robert Ayers, whom she met in the chemistry lab at Howard University.

As a physician, Cynthia had a reputation as a compassionate caregiver who did not hesitate to sit for hours with a patient who wanted to talk, said her daughter, Kimberly Ayers Shariff.

"Even if she had patients she knew she was going to lose, she would stay there with them and the family until they ceased to breathe," her daughter said.

In a profession dominated by white men, Cynthia Ayers gained the respect and admiration of the medical hierarchy. In 2007, she was the first woman to receive the Physician of the Year Award from Gateway Medical Society, a chapter of the National Medical Society, which represents minority physicians.

During postgraduate training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, she convinced the administration that married women deserved the same supplemental salary as a married man.

She was the first African-American woman to be accepted for that program.

Cynthia was born in Philadelphia. Her late father was Julius Keller Sr. She graduated from Girls High and went on to Howard. She graduated with a bachelor of science in chemistry. It was during her junior year that she met Robert Ayers, her future husband. He died in 1999.

She then went on to Howard University College of Medicine. After her second year, she participated in the Columbia University pediatric externship program at Harlem Hospital, in New York.

After graduation, she and her husband returned to Philadelphia where she entered the graduate program at Penn, and her internal-medicine internship at Alfred Einstein Medical Center. She then moved to Pittsburgh, where she completed her internal-medicine residency at Mercy Hospital. While at Mercy, she worked as the corporate physician for AT&T and ran the diagnostic dilemma clinic at Alma Illery Medical Center. Cynthia may have had a special empathy for her patients because she survived colon cancer in her 40s.

"Cynthia's care for her patients went well beyond the traditional doctor/patient relationship," her daughter said. "She would offer her assistance to assure not only the emotional well-being of her patients, but the spiritual and financial as well."

She also was a devoted family matriarch. "She attended every game and performance of her children and was equally dedicated to her friends, acting as a confidante and trusted adviser to many," her daughter said.

Cynthia was an active member of Mount Arafat Baptist Church, and a devoted traveler. She visited England, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Greece - "places she said she never dreamed she'd see in this lifetime," her daughter said.

She also is survived by a son, Byron; a brother, Julius; and two grandchildren.

Services: Were Saturday. Burial was in Homewood Cemetery, in Pittsburgh. Donations in her name may be made to the Dr. Cynthia Keller Ayers Endowed Scholarship at Howard University College of Medicine, 2225 Georgia Avenue NW, Suite 922, Washington DC 20059.