Dr. John Roger Kelsey Jr.

John Roger Kelsey, Jr., M.D. was born in Deport, Texas on May 20, 1922 to J. Roger and Bonita Parrott Kelsey. John graduated from Deport High School and attended the University of Texas. He received his M.D. degree from Baylor Medical School in 1945, graduating first in his class at the age of 22. John served his internship at Baltimore City Hospital, the teaching hospital of John Hopkin's University. From 1948 to 1951, John was a Fellow in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic where he also earned his Master of Science Degree in Medicine from the University of Minnesota.

In 1953, Dr. John, as he became known, moved to Houston to enter private practice with his brother, Dr. Mavis Kelsey, and Dr. William Leary. As additional physicians were added, the practice grew into the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. During John’s 34 year tenure with the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, he also served as Chief of Gastroenterological Services at Methodist Hospital and as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor Medical School where he authored 51 medical research publications. During his career, John received numerous honors and awards developing an international reputation, lecturing at medical conventions across the U.S. and abroad. One of his fondest memories was serving as the President of the Mayo Alumni Association. John was a founder of the Kelsey Research Foundation in 1956, an organization dedicated to medical and clinical research.

As a Baylor medical student, John met Mary Margaret Wier who, on March 2, 1945, became his loving wife for 65 years. He is survived by his wife and four children, Virginia W. Kelsey, Robert W. Kelsey and wife, Heidi Hover Kelsey, Ann Kelsey Naber, and husband Gary A. Naber, all of Houston and John R. Kelsey, III, and wife Mary Lou Sansone Kelsey of Lebanon, PA. John and Mickey’s five grandchildren are Roger R. Kelsey, R. Gage Kelsey, Lindsay V. Naber, Lauren E. Kelsey and Benson W. Kelsey.

Playing golf with friends at the Houston Country Club was one of John’s passions. The 16th hole was his favorite where he had 3 of his 6 hole-in-ones. After his retirement in 1987, John took up oil painting, traveling and fly fishing. He would spend hours painting landscapes of his travels. John treasured his decades of membership in “The Junto”, a politically diverse group of scholars whose sole purpose was to argue all matters political.

The family would like to thank the caregivers that have ensured John’s comfort after the onset of his illness. More importantly, not enough thanks can be expressed for the tireless dedication by John’s daughter, Virginia Kelsey, to all the family matters.

The memorial service celebrating his life will be conducted at half-past eleven o’clock in the morning on Monday, the 26th of July, in the sanctuary of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road in Houston. Immediately following the service, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Hines Baker Room. Prior to the memorial service, the family will have gathered for a private interment ceremony at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

The family requests with gratitude that memorials in John's memory be directed to the charity of one’s choice.