John Rupert Lovelace

On Thursday, November 1, 2007, Dr. John Rupert Lovelace died, at the age of 85. He was born on August 23, 1922 in Indianola, MS, the fifth son and seventh child to Erma Elizabeth Hogin Lovelace and DeWitt Samuel Lovelace. Dr. Lovelace lived in Batesville, MS from 1952 until 2005, when he and his wife moved to Oxford.
After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1939, he served as a bomber pilot in WW II in the Pacific Theater from 1942-1946. Upon his return from the war, he married Sarah Ann Nickle and returned to school at the University of Mississippi, where he received his medical certificate. Finishing first in his class, Dr. Lovelace was selected to continue his medical studies at Harvard University, where he received his medical degree in 1950.
Following receipt of his medical degree, Dr. Lovelace interned in 1950-1951 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. He entered a general practice in Batesville in 1951 and remained there until 1953 when he left to enter a surgery residency at University of Tennessee and City of Memphis Hospitals. He was named Chief Resident in Surgery at the University of Tennessee in 1956 and remained in that post until 1958 when he returned to Batesville for the general practice of surgery.
Always involved in the community, he served as a member of many organizations, including South Panola School District Board of Trustees, a director of the Panola County Federal Savings & Loan Association, the Batesville Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club of Batesville, where he was a Paul Harris fellow. Not only was Dr. Lovelace involved in many community organizations, but also contributed to organizations that stretched further than his own community. He served as vice president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, a member of the Mississippi State Board of Health, President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and also a board member of the Institution of Higher Learning for twelve years, serving as president of that board. Due to his continuing service and dedication to the community, on Dr. Lovelace's 76th birthday, the mayor of Batesville declared "John R. Lovelace Day".
Dr. Lovelace is preceded in death by his wife, Sarah Ann Nickle Lovelace.
He is survived by his daughter, Rebecca Lovelace Black and her husband, Marion; son, Dr. Michael Hogin Lovelace and his wife, Sharon; son, John Rupert Lovelace, Jr., and his wife Beth; eight grandchildren, Courtney Ann Lovelace Butler and her husband, Lindsay, Dr. David Albritton Black, Tyler Warren Lovelace, Andrew Lovelace Black, Mary John Lovelace White and her husband, Josh, Sarah Spears Black, Taylor Elizabeth Lovelace and Morgan Kathryn Lovelace; one great grandson, Colton Todd Butler.
The funeral will be held at the Batesville Presbyterian Church today at 11:00 am with visitation from 9:30 until 11:00 am at the church prior to the service. Burial will be at Magnolia Cemetery in Batesville.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Batesville Presbyterian Church.