Dr. Jeanne M. Godar M.D.

1951 - 2016

Dr. Jeanne M. Godar, M.D.

Janesville, WI

Dr. Jeanne M. Godar, M.D. passed away at Mercy Hospital in Janesville, WI, on Friday, July 22, 2016, following a courageous battle against brain cancer. She was born January 14, 1951, in Alton, IL, the daughter of A. Stephen and Irene (Dakin) Godar. Growing up, the family lived in southern Illinois, Saint Louis, MO, St. Paul, MN, Silver Spring, MD and Raleigh, NC.

Jeanne attended North Carolina State University, earning a degree in Zoology in 1973. She received her Medical Technology Certification from Duke University and after working in Asheville, NC, began working as a medical research technologist with Burroughs-Welcome & Co. (now Glaxo Smith Kline) in the Research Triangle Park, NC.

Attending the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, she received her Doctor of Medicine in 1985. Following a year of Internship at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA, she entered a Dermatology Residency at Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis. Completing her residency in 1989, she subsequently completed a fellowship in Derma-pathology in 1990, becoming a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

She married John A. Davis, Jr. on May 27, 1990, in Norfolk, VA and began practicing Dermatology in Raleigh, NC, where she brought her three children into the world, twin boys, Michael and Christian, and daughter, Anna. The family moved to Janesville in 1992 where she began a long career as a beloved dermatologist with Mercy Health System.

She is survived by her husband, John A. Davis, Jr.; her children: Michael, Christian and Anna Davis all of Janesville, WI; her father, A. Stephen Godar of Raleigh, NC; sister, Anne Hess of Raleigh, NC; brother, Dr. Stephen Godar of Eagle, CO; nephew, William Hess of Raleigh, NC; niece, Elizabeth Godar of Chapel Hill, NC; and numerous relatives and friends throughout the country. Jeanne was preceded in death by her mother, Irene Dakin Godar; and niece, Kate Hess.

A Reception in Jeanne's honor will be held on Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Rotary Gardens. A Funeral Service will precede the reception at 2:00 p.m. on Monday at TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 411 E. Court St., Janesville, WI with The Rev. Kathy Monson Lutes officiating. Memorials may be made to Mercy Hospice or Rotary Gardens. SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY is assisting the family. A memorial gathering in Jeanne's honor will be announced at a later date in Raleigh, NC. For online condolences and registry: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com

Jeanne was an intelligent, giving, and loving person, whose simple grace and kindness was offered freely to her husband, children, family, friends, co-workers, and patients. She blessed us with her smile, wry sense of humor, love of wildflowers and nature, and gentle, understated, sweet disposition. As a physician, she chose to practice medicine in the manner we all hope our doctors would, with a thorough yet compassionate approach, giving great comfort and healing wherever possible.

She will be remembered and cherished by all who knew her.