John W. DeVore

John W. DeVore, M.D., was born to Harry S. and Ann Elizabeth DeVore on August 30, 1921. He died on August 1, 2006, after a twenty-six year battle with cancer. The son of a Methodist minister, John grew up in the ministries where his father was called to serve, and graduated in 1939 from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas. John attended Southern Methodist University as a premedical student, graduating with an AB degree in 1942. He continued a close relationship with SMU, serving on the Board of Trustees and on many committees. John received his M.D. from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1945. After an internship at Baltimore City Hospitals, he was an Air Force flight surgeon for two years, followed by a fellowship at OU Medical School Anatomy Department. John began an internal medicine residency at OU, but in 1950, he was awarded a residency and fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Ohio State University, during which he was engaged in the early pioneering of treatments for cancer and blood diseases. In 1953, he returned to Oklahoma City to enter private practice at Langston Medical Clinic. He was the first hematologist, oncologist to practice in Oklahoma City. John served as a member of the Board of the County Medical Society and on various committees. He provided medical care and comfort to his many patients over 61 years of active practice as a physician. To answer the need in Oklahoma City to serve the elderly, John became chairman of an interfaith study committee which led to the formation of a retirement village that includes the Superbia Complex, the Baptist Retirement Complex, and the soon to be built, Lutheran Retirement Complex. Superbia was built with a federal loan that John and Senator Robert S. Kerr worked jointly to secure. John was the Oklahoma Chairman for the first White House Conference on Aging and a member of the National Housing Committee for the second White House Conference. As a leading Oklahoma expert in gerontology, John was also appointed to numerous committees for senior citizens in mental health, rehabilitation, and other state agency functions. John's faith previously led him to serve as a deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church. When John married Marion, he joined All Souls Episcopal Church. Family, faith in God, and a love of his patients were the primary goals in John's life. He is survived by his wife Marion Briscoe DeVore; sons John, Allan, and David; sons Peter and Kent Hoffman; daughters Marni Cooney and Susan Hoffman; and the husbands and wives of his children. There are sixteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Dr. James DeVore and wife Nancy of Oklahoma City, and his sister Mary Elizabeth Montgomery and husband Charles of Dallas, Texas. John's family are all fine, loving individuals who have been the light of his life. The services will be at All Souls Episcopal Church at 2:00 PM Saturday, August 5, 2006. Contributions to All Souls and Bellevue Nursing Home or the place of your choice.