Jewel Simpson Daughety, M.D.

Jewel Simpson Daughety, M.D., was born May 28, 1929, and passed away peacefully from pneumonia on December 31, 2024, at age 95. Called “Doc” by friends, colleagues, and all his relatives in East Texas, he was born in Linden to Wiley Simpson Daughety and Willie Ruth Nelson. Doc’s father was his hero because of his valiant service in World War I and he was always thankful to his mother for introducing him to Methodism, his lifelong religion. He grew up with two sisters, working his way through high school and loving science and baseball—especially the Boston Red Sox. Doc credits his public-school teachers in Linden for lighting the spark of his love for learning. He graduated from Linden High School in 1947.

He ventured to Denton, Texas, to attend North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) and earn a degree in Biology, the pre-med path to his dream of becoming a Medical Doctor, which he achieved in 1955 after graduating from UT Southwestern Medical School. Along the way, he had brilliant and skilled teachers at North Texas, UT Southwestern, Baylor, and Parkland.

Doc chose Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as his specialty and found his love hunting for the causes of his patients’ loss of strength or other debilitations. He also enjoyed sharing his love for Physical Medicine as a part-time teacher in the Occupational Therapy program at Texas Women’s University (TWU).

During his internship at Parkland Hospital (now known as Old Parkland at Maple and Oak Lawn), Doc met MaryAnn McConnell, an Occupational Therapist, and they fell in love listening to opera and playing tennis in the oppressive Texas heat. They married in 1957 and, during his stint as a Captain at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, celebrated the arrival of their daughter, Anne, in 1959. Their son, John, followed in 1960, after they had settled in Dallas. That same year, Doc joined the Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Doc worked hard, becoming head of the Physical Therapy department at St. Paul Hospital. Doc and MaryAnn were avid followers of world affairs and staunch supporters of the fine arts in Dallas, including the opera, symphony, and Shakespeare in the Park. At the same time, his love for the Red Sox never waned and his love for football evolved into buying Dallas Cowboys season tickets, starting at the Cotton Bowl and moving with the team to Texas Stadium. Doc rarely missed a home game when Tom Landry was at the helm.

After St. Paul Hospital, Doc worked for about 25 years in private practice, continuing to investigate the causes of lingering weakness or pain that accompanied injury. He testified often as an expert witness in injury and disability cases, forming strong personal and professional relationships with many prominent Dallas attorneys.

At the same time as building his career, Doc teamed up with MaryAnn to educate their kids from birth to Bachelor’s and then Master’s degrees. But then Doc faced a terrible personal challenge when MaryAnn was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma. MaryAnn survived for 18 months before leaving him a widower in 1990.

After MaryAnn’s death, Doc rediscovered a friendship with a wonderful woman he had known since she was one of his students at TWU. They had their first date at the Wellesley Book and Author Luncheon, after which their renewed friendship quickly developed into romance. Doc married Rose Martin Garrett in 1992. He joyfully embraced the opportunity to help raise her daughter, Kathleen Garrett, from middle school through a Ph.D. in Public Affairs.

After marrying Rose, Doc changed his professional focus, becoming the Medical Director for the Golden Acres Hospice in East Dallas, where he would work for 10 years. Doc also spent time with Rose at her Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s in Richardson, where he enjoyed the homilies of Father (now Monsignor) Fischer. But Doc always remained a Methodist, joining the “Tuesday Knights” at Highland Park United Methodist in 2007 for weekly bible study meetings.

While supporting the palliative care of patients facing end of life, he loved playing with his grandkids, playing baseball with them well into his 70’s. Even after retirement, Doc played soccer with his grandkids in his 80’s and played balloon volleyball with his youngest grandson just a week before his death. Doc’s lifelong yearning to learn and share his thoughts with all around him became even stronger in retirement, when he mixed gardening and yardwork with avid reading and discussion of the true meaning of spirituality.

He was blessed to live a mostly healthy life until he encountered an illness he just could not beat. Doc survived his deceased first wife MaryAnn McConnell Daughety and his sisters Betty Ruth Daughety Radford and Mary Margaret Daughety, both of whom he admired as brave cancer survivors. Doc is survived by his wife Rose Daughety, daughter Anne Daughety Dethrow (Brian Dethrow), son John Daughety (Carly Ness), and daughter Kathleen Garrett Ryan (Andy Ryan). Doc is also survived by five grandchildren—Sam, Peter, Olivia, Jackson, and Dylan—who loved their “Papa” very much.

Along with Rose, Doc stood up as the parents of Jerry McDonald when he married his husband, Michael Grant. Doc’s family thanks Frances Torres for her years of service to Doc and his home, and Victor Ubani for being Doc’s caregiver and spiritual soulmate over the last few years.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, January 11, at 2 p.m. at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home on Northwest Highway.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Highland Park United Methodist Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Prism Health of North Texas, or the Alzheimer’s Association.