George “Herb” Macey, BA, PA-C, was born in Oakland, California, into a family with deep roots in military service. His father, having returned from World War II, where he served as a U.S. Coast Guard coxswain piloting a Higgins boat in the Philippines, and his mother, who worked as a Rosie the Riveter in the Alameda shipyards, instilled in their children a strong sense of duty and service. Raised in Pleasant Hill, California, in the East Bay Area, Macey grew up in the exciting post-WWII era of the 1950s and 1960s, where community life revolved around simple pleasures—Friday night movies and cruising the boulevard. A musician at heart, he began playing drums and guitar in the fifth grade and performed in bands throughout his high school and college years. He also enjoyed competitive sports, particularly football and track.
Military Service and Medical Training
In 1969, Herb Macey joined the U.S. Army and became a Special Forces medic, interrupting his college career in communications. This military experience proved transformational. He began with basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and specialized medical training at Fort Sam Houston. He went on to become a Green Beret and completed jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. During his military service, he also added a minor in microbiology to his degree, having discovered his genuine passion for medicine through his work as a combat medic. He completed his undergraduate degree, graduating from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 1972.
After leaving the Army, Macey transferred to the Utah Air National Guard, joining the newly formed 106th Tactical Air Command at Salt Lake Airport. During this period, he also pursued emergency medical training, becoming an EMT and volunteering as a firefighter with the Sandy City Fire Department and the South Salt Lake Police Department. His service included volunteer work with search-and-rescue operations as a certified scuba diver for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, conducting both rescue and recovery missions.
The Path to the PA Profession
A brief, unsatisfying stint as a pharmaceutical representative for Purdue Pharma reinforced that Macey’s true calling lay in direct patient care. The pivotal moment came when he met fellow airman Randy Danielsen, who had just completed the fourth class of the Utah PA program (then called Medex). Danielsen invited Macey to observe him at his clinic in Kearns, Utah, and encouraged him to consider the PA profession. Inspired by what he saw, Macey applied to the Utah Medex program but was initially rejected, with feedback that he needed more full-time patient care experience.
Determined to succeed, Macey made a bold decision to transfer from the state health department to the Utah State Prison Hospital, where he worked for a year in challenging but invaluable hands-on medical experience. His persistence paid off. He reapplied to the Utah PA program and was accepted into Medex Class Six.
Professional Practice and Advocacy
Herb Macey’s professional career took him to Arizona, where he completed his Medex preceptorship in Safford and practiced medicine for many years. He was among the first PAs to own and operate an independent medical practice—a controversial move in the early 1980s that prompted the Arizona State Attorney General’s office to investigate his relationship with his supervising physicians. Macey prevailed in what he considers a landmark case, one that laid important groundwork for PAs today to own and operate their own medical practices. Though it “put a target on [his] back,” he believes the victory was worth the cost.
Throughout his career, Macey was an active member of the Arizona State Association of Physician Assistants (ASAPA). He took particular pride in the clinical work he conducted during the early days of his practice, when the profession itself was still establishing its identity and scope.
Service and Compassion
Beyond his clinical work, Macey’s most significant accomplishments came through his dedication to serving those without access to adequate medical care. He made multiple trips to Northern Mexico with his friend Randy Danielsen to provide medical care to children in orphanages. He extended this same compassionate service to Honduras and Cambodia, embodying the principle of medicine as service to the most vulnerable.
The most challenging aspects of emergency medicine and primary care—what Macey calls “cradle to grave” patient care—tested his resilience. The deaths of children under his care, though rare, left indelible marks on his conscience and deepened his commitment to honoring each patient’s dignity and humanity.
Life and Family
Macey’s personal life has been rich with family connections. He has been married three times and is the father of six children: Wendy, Josh, and Herb (with his first wife, Linda); Adam and Olivia (with his second wife, Sabrina); and Brooklyn (with his current wife, Susan).
Retirement and Legacy
Five years ago, at the peak of his career, Herb Macey, due to a number of health issues, deliberately chose to surrender his license and retire from active clinical practice. However, he did not step away from service. He began volunteering at a hospice and has continued this work with renewed purpose and meaning. Accompanied by Sage, his certified golden retriever service and therapy dog, Macey has visited over 16,000 individuals in hospice settings, schools, and VA clinics. In his own reflection on this phase of his life, he notes that his role has shifted from making people physically well to what he describes as the privilege of “walking them home”—accompanying patients through their final journeys with compassion, presence, and the comfort that only a caring human-animal bond can provide.
This work has proven, in Macey’s estimation, to be one of his most humbling and satisfying endeavors, demonstrating that a life of service extends far beyond the clinical setting and encompasses the profound human need for dignity, companionship, and presence during life’s most vulnerable moments.
Acknowledgments
This biography was written by Randy Danielsen with the assistance of Herb Macey. It was submitted to the Society in December 2025. All photographs are courtesy of Mr. Macey.
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