Dr. Curtis G.Hames, Sr. was a native and life-long resident of Claxton, Georgia. He obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia in 1941 and a Medical Degree from the University of Georgia, School of Medicine in 1944. Hames completed his internship at University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia and then entered the US Army. He served in the Pacific Division of the US Army Medical Corp from 1945 to 1947 before returning to Claxton, Georgia. He opened his private practice in 1947 and retired in 1988.

In the mid-1950s, Hames began an epidemiological study of Evans County residents that attracted international attention from the scientific community. The National Institute of Health funded the Evans County Heart Study from 1958 to 1995. Hames became one of the first researchers to study patients within their environment. The data collected resulted in over 560 published papers medical journals worldwide on subjects including heart disease, genetics, cancer, hypertension, stroke, pesticide pollution, neurohormones, and psychological determinants of disease, immunology, viruses, and the effects of social interaction on disease. It was one of the first studies to show the protective value of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and the possible impact of the absence of trace mineral selenium in the diets of coastal residents.

Hames held several faculty positions at southern universities: Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical College of Georgia; Clinical Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina; Visiting Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina; Adjunct Professor, Family Medicine, Mercer Medical School, and Adjunct Professor, School of Health and Professional Studies, Georgia Southern University. Hames received numerous awards and honors including the John D. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship Award in 1984. He died in Savannah, Georgia on January 6, 2005.