Obituaries

Jack P. Gunter Jr.

Photo of Jack P. Gunter Jr.
Jack P. Gunter Jr., M.D., internationally renowned plastic surgeon who was also a prolific author, lecturer and innovator, passed away on July 11, 2017, at the age of 79. He died peacefully in his sleep during an afternoon nap. He was born in Fort Smith, Ark., to Charlene Fulbright Gunter and Jack Pershing Gunter, Sr. Jack started his schooling at 3 years of age at the Sour John Oklahoma Grade School for Native Americans where his parents were teachers. It was a large one room schoolhouse with grades 1-6 all taught in the same room. They later settled in Fort Smith, Ark., where they lived until Jack graduated from medical school. During Grade School in Ft. Smith, he met Walter Ducote Haynes and they became life long friends. Jack always said Ducote was more of a brother than a friend. They were inseparable from the 5th grade through college when they separated ways, but not their friendship, when both went to different medical schools. While growing up, Jack and Ducote were more interested in sports, hunting and fishing than school. Jack dreamed of being a big league baseball player but gave it up when he realized he was "all field and no hit". During their senior year in high school, Jack and Ducote were informed by their high school biology teacher that they would be the last students in her class whom she thought had a chance of getting in medical school. Like in class, they didn't listen and went on their way more determined. Jack received his B.A. from Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. While attending Westminster, he belonged to Beta Theta Pi social fraternity, Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary Society and Phi Rho Epsilon, an honorary society for pre-med students. He lettered in varsity tennis four years (serving as captain his last three) and also lettered in varsity wrestling. He was awarded Athlete of the Year his senior year. In 1990 Dr. Gunter received the Alumni Achievement Award from Westminster. He served his country from 1964 until 1973 as a Major in the Arkansas National Guard; his military occupation was as a doctor. Jack attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma. Graduating in 1963, he did a rotating internship and a year of general surgery residency at The University of Arkansas followed by an otolaryngology (ENT) residency at Tulane University. There his interest in plastic surgery, especially rhinoplasty, began. After finishing the residency, Jack did a one year NIH Fellowship in Facial Plastic Surgery at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. At this point, Jack was ready to launch his career and found a position at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in the Division of Otolaryngology; and so his career in Dallas began in 1969 and he later became Chairman of the Division. In 1978 Jack made a major mid-life decision to do a plastic surgery residency at the University of Michigan so he would be double-board certified in both otolaryngology and plastic surgery. Upon his return to Dallas in 1980, he resumed his private practice and in 1983 founded the Dallas Rhinoplasty Symposium which still meets annually and has become world renowned. For several years, he practiced general plastic surgery but later gravitated to plastic surgery of the nose which was his passion. He was featured as "The Man of 1000 Noses" by the Dallas Morning News High Profile section in March 1993. As Jack's expertise grew in rhinoplasty, he was invited to lecture at many major U.S. Universities and eventually became an international lecturer to medical Universities and Societies on six of the seven continents. Dr. Gunter was a member of all the major plastic surgery societies in the U.S. He was honored as The Invited Visiting Professor at 18 major medical centers in the U.S. including Harvard and Johns Hopkins. He authored 54 scientific papers in major medical journals and books and was co-author of the book: Dallas Rhinoplasty: Surgery by the Masters Editions 2002, 2007. In 2004, he was honored as recipient of The President's Award of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and with the Distinquished Fellowship Award 2014, given by the American Association of Plastic Surgeons for his personal achievements and lifetime contributions to the field of plastic surgery. While in medical school, Jack married and divorced 10 years later. Jack had three daughters who were the center of his life. As a single parent for 19 years, Jack had two goals: (1) to raise his daughters to be happy individuals and good, active citizens and (2) to be the best he could be in his profession. Jack worked a lot but always found time to take his daughters waterskiing, snow-skiing, and to play sports. He coached them in track, softball, and basketball during their grade school years. In 1989, he met a lady on a blind date who swept him off his feet; she had two daughters ages four and seven at the time. In 1992, they married. Jack and Deborah have been married for 25 years and Jack was happy to have two more daughters by the marriage. Jack and Deborah burned the candle at both ends travelling extensively, enjoying their friends and family, and pursuing their hobbies of golf, skiing, hunting and fishing. Jack is survived by his devoted wife, Deborah; daughters and sons-in-laws, Ashley and David Beverly, Page and Rob Doby, C.B. and Bo Hamrick; step-daughters, Taylor Overstreet, Mary Reading and Andy Graydon; sister, Vicki Woodson; grandchildren, John David Beverly, Caroline Beverly, Miller Doby, Jack Doby, Wyatt Doby, Ellie Hamrick, and Gunter Hamrick. Honorary pallbearers are Barry Andrews, Fritz Barton M.D., Buford Berry, Steve Byrd M.D., Henry M. Carder M.D., Leo F. Corrigan III, Don Gaskins, Jim Hammond, Sam Hamra M.D., Ducote Haynes M.D., William Hayner, Mitch Hurwitz, Hayden McIlroy, V. Bryan Medlock, Jerry Meyer, Bill Meier, Lamar Norsworthy, Charles Pace, Rod Rorhich M.D., John Tebbetts M.D., Bill Vines, Jim Wikert, and Terry Worrell. Dr. Gunter felt gratitude for the loyalty and service of his co-workers and staff. In particular, he appreciated Marilyn Jackson, Jan Phillips, Jane Dynis, Leslie Soehner, Dorothea Hamilton, Kathleen Soper, and Mimi Morris who worked with him for more than 20 years. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Special Olympics of Texas, Attn: Lesa Cantrell, 1804 Rutherford Lane, Austin, Texas 78754, or North Texas Food Bank, www.ntfb.org/donate. A Memorial Service will be held at Highland Park United Methodist Church, 3300 Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75205, at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 15, 2017.

Published July 16, 2017

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