Dr. Jack M. Davis MD

JACK M. DAVIS, MD Dr. Jack Davis of Kansas City, Missouri, quietly passed away, surrounded by his family, on November 28, 2011. He was 89. Dr. Jack is the beloved husband of Jacquelyn Davis and honored father of John M. Davis, MD and his wife Judge Paula Davis of Leawood, Kansas; of Melinda Davis Wingate and her husband Ealan Wingate of New York, New York; and of Stephen D. Davis and his wife Patti Davis of Hinsdale, Illinois. He also leaves behind his brother, Dick Davis of Chillicothe, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his sister, Alice Albertson, and niece Deborah Davis. He also leaves two nieces Beverly Albertson and Denise Stottlemyer. Dr. Jack took great pride and pleasure in his five grandchildren: John M. Davis, MD, and his wife Dawn Davis, MD, of Rochester, Minnesota; Stephanie Davis of New York, New York; Allison Davis of Prairie Village, Kansas; Colin Davis and his wife Margaret Cashill Davis of Tampa, Florida; and Spencer Davis of Hinsdale, Illinois. In addition, he was blessed with two great grandchildren, Anne and Ella Davis, aged 7 and 4, of Rochester. Jack Davis was born in 1922, on Halloween, in Wheeling, Missouri, where he began his life story working with his beloved father Clarence on the small family farm in north Missouri. Clarence was a strong, gentle man of wit who all deeply loved and respected, especially his oldest son Jack. He also benefitted much from his mother Ruth, a smart and hard-working woman who always said Jack was going to the university when no one thought that possible, and whose sudden blindness at age 50 inspired him to become a doctor. Money was very tight, but Jack did make it to college through extraordinary effort. Jack was especially proud of a 3-acre tomato patch that he and a friend raised that brought him enough money to return to college for his sophomore year. Jack was raised in the Wheeling Methodist Church and never forgot its lessons. He was captain of the Wheeling town baseball team, a catcher who could hit the long ball. He entered Maryville Teachers' College in Maryville, Missouri, at the age of sixteen, moving on to the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1941. Because of the war, he was accepted into medical school at Missouri after his junior year and the Army paid for his medical education, a Godsend to a poor farm boy. Jack thrived. He served as president of his medical school fraternity, Phi Beta Pi, and also was at the top of his class at Missouri after two years. He transferred to the Washington University School of Medicine, and earned his MD degree in 1947. Jack repaid his debt to the United States Army by serving as a Captain in the medical corps at Darmstadt and Bad Nauheim, Germany in 1953-54. He was accompanied there by his stalwart wife, Jackie, and the two children they had so far, John and Melinda. After returning to Kansas City, Jack and Jackie continued to build the home and family that would be the heart of their lives together. He had met Jacquelyn Henson at City Hospital in St. Louis when he was a medical student and she was a student nurse. Jackie was in pursuit of an elderly man who had escaped the ward by hiding in a laundry cart. She found him shaking hands with Jack whom he had mistaken for Babe Ruth. Thus began an extraordinary lifelong partnership between Jack and Jackie that was to last for more than 63 years. The story of their love and devotion to each other will last for generations in the extended Davis family and in the memories of all who knew them. Jack and Jackie moved to Raytown, Missouri in 1948, where he first began his life as a specialist in Internal Medicine. He was a member of the AMA for fifty years, and a founder of the Raytown Clinic in the early1950s. He established a solo practice in Kansas City in 1967. He practiced medicine at both Research Medical Center and Baptist Memorial Hospital. He was President of the Staff at Baptist Hospital Medical Center in 1975. Among the many honors he received over his lifetime was the "Teacher of the Year" award from the Goppert Family Care Center in 1979; The Herbert H. Virden, MD Dedicated Physician Award from his colleagues on the Baptist Hospital medical staff-an honor from his peers of which he was especially proud; and the Trustee Service Award presented by the Board of Trustees of Baptist Health Systems. Dr. Jack was much beloved by his many hundreds of patients over a medical career of half a century. A small party planned for his retirement had to be moved to the hospital auditorium because of the crowd of people who came to wish him well. Many of his patients and colleagues still speak of how they would feel better just having Dr. Jack talk with them, his gentle manner and obvious concern for them as beneficial as his deep medical insight. The doctor was not only a great healer but also a great storyteller and spinner of yarns. His tales have become folklore even beyond his own family. Dr. Jack always took special pride in seeing his medical legacy continued by his offspring. In 1978, his eldest son John joined Jack in his medical practice, and they worked side by side for 13 years. John, an oncologist/hematologist, is with Kansas City Cancer Center and University of Kansas Cancer Center. John's son, also named John Davis, is a rheumatologist at the Mayo Clinic, where he practices with his physician wife Dawn, a pediatric dermatologist. Jack's granddaughter Allison, like her grandmother Jackie, is an RN obtaining her nurse practitioner degree at KU Medical Center. His grandson Colin is a social worker and child therapist. Dr. Jack, the great achiever, found special happiness in the achievements of all of his children and grandchildren. His powers of persuasion live on in his son Steve, a trial lawyer, who has presented a case before the Supreme Court. His daughter Melinda continues his tradition of storytelling as a writer in New York City. His grandson, Spencer James is a freshman in college and also a writer and artist. His granddaughter Stephanie is a Social Media officer with Heddings Property Group in New York City. In 1970, Jack fulfilled a long-time wish to own, once again, some fertile Missouri farmland, and he purchased 320 acres in Garden City, Missouri, near Harrisonville, joining two loves: medicine and the land. He worked there side by side with both of his sons, clearing land, building fence, ultimately raising a prize-winning herd of Black Angus cattle. He was a lifelong sports fan-particularly of the Kansas City A's, the Royals and the Chiefs. He was a voracious reader of journals and books. He was a member of the Raytown Christian Church. His hobby, he always said, was work. Jack-Dad-was an enormous presence in our lives, and nothing can express how much we revere him and will miss him. He was a great man and a true patriarch, who inspired a powerful respect in his family for his wisdom, love of righteous labor, and insights into the human condition. May God rest you Dad. After your life of hard work and hard won achievement, God knows how much you deserve it. We love you more than words can say. Services will be Thursday, December 1, at Floral Hills Funeral Home, 7000 Blue Ridge Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64133. Visitation at 11:00 am, Funeral Services at 12 noon, burial to follow in the Floral Hills Cemetery. Fond memories and condolences for the family may be left at www.floralhillsfuneralhome.com. (Arrangements by D.W. Newcomer's Sons Floral Hills Funeral Home, 816-353-1218)