Coleman - Dr. Roy F. Kemper, 59, a Coleman physician, died at 2:30 a. m. Thursday at his home after a lengthy illness. Services will be at 2 p. m. Saturday at Walker Funeral Home. The Rev. Paul Smith will officiate, assisted by the Rev. Pat McClatchy. Burial will be at Cedar Gap Cemetery. He was born March 1, 1923, at Cisco,Texas, and was the son of William Oliver Kemper and Maude Judia Kemper. He graduated from Abilene High School and McMurry College. He graduated from Southwestern College of Medicine in Dallas in 1953 and moved to Coleman to practice medicine in 1954. An Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was a member of First United Methodist Church. Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Kemper of Abilene; three daughters, Judia Kemper and Anita Kemper, both of Coleman, and Susan Schuppenhauer of Houston; three sons, Martin of Galveston, W. D. "Kemp" of Abilene and Alan Roy of Houston; a brother, Howard O. of Phoenix, Arizona; and 13 grandchildren." (Obituary from The Abilene Reporter-News.)
On a more personal note, Doc Kemper was an old time country doctor. He was not above making house calls, having patients knock on OUR door at home, or even treating minor emergencies wherever they happened to be, sometimes even at Hord's Creek Lake where he spent much time. He taught countless people how to ski and swim. We spent many summers there. Often times, there would be an emergency at town. The Coleman Hospital would call the park rangers and they would come honking across the dam, which was his cue to get in his stationwagon and head that way. This was long before the days of cell phone (which he would hate). I'm sure that he delivered many babies while still in his swim trunks. He was quite a character, often having an off color joke or making a comment to someone that would be considered quite out of the ordinary today. PC would never describe him. He had a weighted "8 ball" on his desk that weighed 10 pounds and would hand it to his patients and tell them how many of them they were carrying around unnecessarily. Despite his unusual antics, he was an amazing doctor and people still tell me today that they miss him. He was quite a surgeon, and took pride in his "handiwork".
Roy was an accomplished tenor, and often sang solos, even doing so in Dallas to supplement his growing family. My father had a brain tumor while he was still in medical school which had to be removed. Years after his death, a doctor that assisted during that surgery told a family member that they had removed a quarter of his frontal lobe, and they were indeed surprised that he had survived, finished medical school, and became an excellent doctor. No doubt it contributed to his eccentricities, given it's location. It seems God wasn't finished with him yet.
He did not like "socialized medicine" and was quite vocal in his opinions on it and many other things. He would say "My middle name is Frank, and I am". He had a way of giving small pox vaccines that was quite unusual. I could always tell if he gave kids at my school theirs because he didn't want to put a dime sized scar on the top of their arm (which everybody of my era had). His were given behind and below closer to the arm pit which didn't show. Just another example of how different he was than the average doctor. He was before his time though, because a whole bunch of what he said would happen in our country and this world, happened just as he said it would.. Miss you daddy... catch you later.
On a more personal note, Doc Kemper was an old time country doctor. He was not above making house calls, having patients knock on OUR door at home, or even treating minor emergencies wherever they happened to be, sometimes even at Hord's Creek Lake where he spent much time. He taught countless people how to ski and swim. We spent many summers there. Often times, there would be an emergency at town. The Coleman Hospital would call the park rangers and they would come honking across the dam, which was his cue to get in his stationwagon and head that way. This was long before the days of cell phone (which he would hate). I'm sure that he delivered many babies while still in his swim trunks. He was quite a character, often having an off color joke or making a comment to someone that would be considered quite out of the ordinary today. PC would never describe him. He had a weighted "8 ball" on his desk that weighed 10 pounds and would hand it to his patients and tell them how many of them they were carrying around unnecessarily. Despite his unusual antics, he was an amazing doctor and people still tell me today that they miss him. He was quite a surgeon, and took pride in his "handiwork".
Roy was an accomplished tenor, and often sang solos, even doing so in Dallas to supplement his growing family. My father had a brain tumor while he was still in medical school which had to be removed. Years after his death, a doctor that assisted during that surgery told a family member that they had removed a quarter of his frontal lobe, and they were indeed surprised that he had survived, finished medical school, and became an excellent doctor. No doubt it contributed to his eccentricities, given it's location. It seems God wasn't finished with him yet.
He did not like "socialized medicine" and was quite vocal in his opinions on it and many other things. He would say "My middle name is Frank, and I am". He had a way of giving small pox vaccines that was quite unusual. I could always tell if he gave kids at my school theirs because he didn't want to put a dime sized scar on the top of their arm (which everybody of my era had). His were given behind and below closer to the arm pit which didn't show. Just another example of how different he was than the average doctor. He was before his time though, because a whole bunch of what he said would happen in our country and this world, happened just as he said it would.. Miss you daddy... catch you later.
Coleman - Dr. Roy F. Kemper, 59, a Coleman physician, died at 2:30 a. m. Thursday at his home after a lengthy illness. Services will be at 2 p. m. Saturday at Walker Funeral Home. The Rev. Paul Smith will officiate, assisted by the Rev. Pat McClatchy. Burial will be at Cedar Gap Cemetery. He was born March 1, 1923, at Cisco,Texas, and was the son of William Oliver Kemper and Maude Judia Kemper. He graduated from Abilene High School and McMurry College. He graduated from Southwestern College of Medicine in Dallas in 1953 and moved to Coleman to practice medicine in 1954. An Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was a member of First United Methodist Church. Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Kemper of Abilene; three daughters, Judia Kemper and Anita Kemper, both of Coleman, and Susan Schuppenhauer of Houston; three sons, Martin of Galveston, W. D. "Kemp" of Abilene and Alan Roy of Houston; a brother, Howard O. of Phoenix, Arizona; and 13 grandchildren." (Obituary from The Abilene Reporter-News.)
On a more personal note, Doc Kemper was an old time country doctor. He was not above making house calls, having patients knock on OUR door at home, or even treating minor emergencies wherever they happened to be, sometimes even at Hord's Creek Lake where he spent much time. He taught countless people how to ski and swim. We spent many summers there. Often times, there would be an emergency at town. The Coleman Hospital would call the park rangers and they would come honking across the dam, which was his cue to get in his stationwagon and head that way. This was long before the days of cell phone (which he would hate). I'm sure that he delivered many babies while still in his swim trunks. He was quite a character, often having an off color joke or making a comment to someone that would be considered quite out of the ordinary today. PC would never describe him. He had a weighted "8 ball" on his desk that weighed 10 pounds and would hand it to his patients and tell them how many of them they were carrying around unnecessarily. Despite his unusual antics, he was an amazing doctor and people still tell me today that they miss him. He was quite a surgeon, and took pride in his "handiwork".
Roy was an accomplished tenor, and often sang solos, even doing so in Dallas to supplement his growing family. My father had a brain tumor while he was still in medical school which had to be removed. Years after his death, a doctor that assisted during that surgery told a family member that they had removed a quarter of his frontal lobe, and they were indeed surprised that he had survived, finished medical school, and became an excellent doctor. No doubt it contributed to his eccentricities, given it's location. It seems God wasn't finished with him yet.
He did not like "socialized medicine" and was quite vocal in his opinions on it and many other things. He would say "My middle name is Frank, and I am". He had a way of giving small pox vaccines that was quite unusual. I could always tell if he gave kids at my school theirs because he didn't want to put a dime sized scar on the top of their arm (which everybody of my era had). His were given behind and below closer to the arm pit which didn't show. Just another example of how different he was than the average doctor. He was before his time though, because a whole bunch of what he said would happen in our country and this world, happened just as he said it would.. Miss you daddy... catch you later.
On a more personal note, Doc Kemper was an old time country doctor. He was not above making house calls, having patients knock on OUR door at home, or even treating minor emergencies wherever they happened to be, sometimes even at Hord's Creek Lake where he spent much time. He taught countless people how to ski and swim. We spent many summers there. Often times, there would be an emergency at town. The Coleman Hospital would call the park rangers and they would come honking across the dam, which was his cue to get in his stationwagon and head that way. This was long before the days of cell phone (which he would hate). I'm sure that he delivered many babies while still in his swim trunks. He was quite a character, often having an off color joke or making a comment to someone that would be considered quite out of the ordinary today. PC would never describe him. He had a weighted "8 ball" on his desk that weighed 10 pounds and would hand it to his patients and tell them how many of them they were carrying around unnecessarily. Despite his unusual antics, he was an amazing doctor and people still tell me today that they miss him. He was quite a surgeon, and took pride in his "handiwork".
Roy was an accomplished tenor, and often sang solos, even doing so in Dallas to supplement his growing family. My father had a brain tumor while he was still in medical school which had to be removed. Years after his death, a doctor that assisted during that surgery told a family member that they had removed a quarter of his frontal lobe, and they were indeed surprised that he had survived, finished medical school, and became an excellent doctor. No doubt it contributed to his eccentricities, given it's location. It seems God wasn't finished with him yet.
He did not like "socialized medicine" and was quite vocal in his opinions on it and many other things. He would say "My middle name is Frank, and I am". He had a way of giving small pox vaccines that was quite unusual. I could always tell if he gave kids at my school theirs because he didn't want to put a dime sized scar on the top of their arm (which everybody of my era had). His were given behind and below closer to the arm pit which didn't show. Just another example of how different he was than the average doctor. He was before his time though, because a whole bunch of what he said would happen in our country and this world, happened just as he said it would.. Miss you daddy... catch you later.
Gravesite Details
Susan Kemper is buried next to her father, Roy F. Kemper. VJ remarried and is buried in Coleman, Texas
