William Randolph Lovelace II, médecin, et son épouse Mary, meurent à Aspen, Colorado dans un accident d'avion. 

His wife Mary had two sons, but both died of poliomyelitis in 1946. The couple also had three daughters.[8] In 1947 they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he joined his uncle at Lovelace Clinic, with whom he established the Lovelace Medical Foundation, currently known as the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, in Albuquerque. He became the chairman of the Board of Governors. His first hire was Clayton Sam White for director of research. Lovelace used this clinic to promote the development of medical aerospace technology