He was born June 17, 1931 in Chattanooga to Dr. Woodruff Asbury and Pearl Harris Banks. His father was the founder in 1924 of Physicians and Surgeons Hospital located on McCallie Avenue.
He graduated from Bright School and was a 1949 graduate of The McCallie School. He graduated from Tulane University and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis where he received his M.D. Degree in 1955. He served his Internship at Charity Hospital of Louisiana in New Orleans and was the Chief General Surgery Resident at Baroness Erlanger Hospital. From 1962 to 1963 he served a fellowship in General Surgery at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts. He served in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1957 to 1959 holding the rank of Captain.
In 1999 Dr. Banks received the McCallie School Alumni Achievement Award and recently on May 16, 2011 he received the Memorial Health Care System Humanitarian Award.
As a general surgeon, he had a long history of practice in the Chattanooga area and provided key leadership during this time to Memorial Hospital as Secretary of the Medical Staff from 1966 to 1969 and to Erlanger as Chief of Surgery from 1971 to 1972.
In the medical community his activities included the Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society where he served as President, the Tennessee Medical Association, the Southeast Medical Association, the Chattanooga Regional Oncology Association and the Chattanooga Academy of Surgery.
He was a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He was on and served as Chairman of the Memorial Hospital Board of Directors. He also served on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Physician Advisory Committee.
He was a member of the First Centenary United Methodist Church for 35 years and attended the Morgan Sunday School Class. He was a long time member of the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club where he served on the Board. In retirement Dr. Banks took up painting and was an avid golfer.
He was preceded in death by his parents and granddaughter, Palmer Griffin.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marjorie Upham Banks of Signal Mountain; his sister Alma Katherine Banks Edwards and her husband George Edwards, of Raleigh, NC; three children, Diana Darr Banks, M.D. and husband Richard Lemons, M.D. of Salt Lake City, Utah, Woodruff Asbury Banks, III and wife Celeste of Grapevine, TX, and Susan Banks Griffin and husband John Mark Griffin of Chattanooga; grandchildren, Alex, Meg and Sam Lemons, Meredith Banks, Banks Griffin, Mary Woodruff and Sally Darr Griffin; and several nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be at 11:30 AM on Friday, January 6, 2012 at First Centenary United Methodist Church 419 McCallie Avenue with Dr. David Harr and Dr. Dwight Kilbourne officiating. Burial will follow at Forest Hills Cemetery.
The Family will receive friends on Thursday, January 5 from 4 to 7 PM at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 South Moore Road and on Friday at the church from 10:30 to 11:30 AM.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 6221 Shallowford Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421, First Centenary United Methodist Church 419 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37402 or to your favorite charity.
Arrangements are by the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 404 South Moore Road.
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