Royce Edmund Dawson

Dr. Royce Edmund Dawson, 87, of Owensboro, passed away Sunday, December 2, 2012 at his home. A son of the late John Morgan Dawson and Nellie Easton Dawson, he was trained up on hard work and lived his life in that mode. He worked equally hard at his interests; farming, flying, fishing, hunting and golf, each in its own time. But his lifelong love was his profession. He was touched with the magic that makes an ideal physician.

He graduated with honors from Daviess County High School, then after service in the 8th Armored Division during World War II, went on to college at Western Kentucky University, medical school and six years of surgical training at Vanderbilt University, which brought him home to Owensboro for life.

Armed with board certification in general and thoracic surgery, he remained active in medical and surgical societies locally, statewide, and nationally. He never stopped learning and teaching from each of these sources, submitting many published articles. Service to the city and state were included in his "must dos". Chief among them were on boards of directors: Kentucky State Board of Medical Licensure (chairman from 1985 - to 1997), the former Owensboro Federal Savings and Loan (1966 - 1994), Green River Electric (1972 - 2000, serving as chairman from 1985 - 1998), Councils such as Health Planning and Sub-Area Council, Clinical Practice and Nurse Practice Council, H. William Scott Society and American College of Surgeons. His presidencies included the Daviess County Medical Society, the Staff of Owensboro-Daviess County Hospital, alumni of Western Kentucky University, and of his surgical partnership. Dr. Dawson was a devoted member of First Presbyterian Church, having served as a deacon.

He cared especially for the nurses. An address to one group elicited a heartfelt thank you: "A real pleasure to hear Dr. D. speak. In 13 years at ODCH I never heard one negative remark about him".

He had a profound influence upon his family unto the fourth generation. Great-granddaughter Emily's Thanksgiving goodbye said it for all of us. "Nite Nite, Papaw."

His family remaining include his wife, Lucy Buford Dawson; his son, John L. Dawson and his wife Beverly of Owensboro; his daughters, Lucy Dawson Davis and her husband John of Ashland and Mary Dawson of Nashville; his grandchildren, Rachel Dawson Schardein and her husband Steve, and Leslie Dawson, of Louisville, Fields Davis and Lucy Davis of Ashland, and his great-granddaughter, Emily Schardein of Louisville. His brother, Elton Dawson, preceded him in death.

The funeral service for Dr. Dawson, officiated by The Rev. Jonathan E. Carroll, will be 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in the chapel of Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory. Visitation at the funeral home will be from 2:00 until 7:00 p.m. Tuesday and after 12:00 noon Wednesday. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the memorial funds of First Presbyterian Church, Ducks Unlimited, and Hospice of Western Kentucky.