William `Bob' Ironside was regarded as one of the finest surgeons ever to work in Huddersfield.
Mr Ironside - known to all as Bob - was a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at both Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and the Royal Halifax Infirmary for 27 years.
He died last week at the age of 80.
Colleagues praised his outstanding work over a long medical career and spoke of "an eminent and pioneering surgeon".
Mr Ironside, of Fixby, pioneered reconstructive surgery of the middle ear for deafness.
For his outstanding research he was awarded the W J Harrison Prize by the Royal Society of Medicine in 1983.
Mr Ironside qualified as a doctor in Aberdeen and studied at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
He moved to the United States when he was appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago in 1955. He was also an associate professor at the same college.
He moved to Huddersfield in 1959 and served the town until 1986.
He was a lecturer of international renown and worked in places including Kuwait, Malaysian, Indonesia and Pakistan.
He was a council member of the Association of Otolaryngologists, president of the otolaryngology section of the Royal Society of medicine and also president of the Huddersfield Medical Society.
Away from work, Mr Ironside was a distinguished sportsman, representing Scottish Universities at international level in rugby, golf and swimming.
He was a very fine golfer and was a past captain of Huddersfield Golf Club.
He was a member of the Huddersfield team which won the Yorkshire Championships in 1966 and 1974 and a long-standing member of the Royal and Ancient at St Andrews.
Mr Ironside leaves a widow Joyce, two daughters, Patti and Fifi, grandchildren Charlie and Oliver, and stepsons Johnny and Andy.
