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    Texas | Columns

    Remembering two doctors

    by Bob Bowman
    Bob Bowman
    When doctors W.D. Thames of Lufkin and Joe Dickerson of Jasper died recently, East Texas lost two unique physicians--men who made house calls, kept up with the babies they delivered, and cared for whole families.

    Thames graduated valedictorian of his Lufkin high school class in 1941 and began practicing medicine in 1948 in an small office where he stayed 40 years.

    Upon graduation from medical school, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and served as a doctor on a ship in Korea and Japan during the Korean conflict.

    When he came home, Thames made early rounds at Lufkin’s two hospitals and made house calls, recalled his daughter, Mary Anne Clement, before he went to his modest office.

    “W.D. loved every day of his life, and loved every bit of it,” said a long-time patient, “and even after he retired, he would take phone calls from old patients or the children of his former patients.”

    When someone asked Thames if he had a specialization in his practice, he laughed and said, “I specialize in diseases of the skin and all of its contents.”

    In 1987, Thames was awarded the Angelina Award--Lufkin’s highest award for personal service--but in his typical self-effacing manner, he said, “here are a lot of people who deserve this more than I do.”

    Dickerson, better known simply as “Dr Joe,” was born in the old ghost town of Rockland and went to school at Woodville.

    In 1964, he built Dickerson Memorial Hospital and named it in memory of his wife, who died in 1961.

    Like Thames, Dickerson enlisted in the military, serving in the Army Air Corps, flying P-38s during World War II.

    Dickerson was a devout Christian, a Christian scholar and considered an expert on the Shroud of Turin. He was also known as “Mr. Jasper” because of his involvement in many community activities.

    A friend said Dickerson delivered babies, doctored them, delivered their children when they became adults, and cared for them when they became parents and grandparents.

    Bob Bowman's East Texas
    May 8, 2011 Column.
    A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers
    (Bob Bowman of Lufkin. is the author of almost 50 books about East Texas history and folklore. He can be reached at bob-bowman.com)
    Bob Bowman's East Texas >
    "All Things Historical" archive >

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    The Forgotten Towns of East Texas, Vol. I
    By Bob and Doris Bowman
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