John Laughlin Denman was born August 10, 1926, in Bellefontaine, Ohio, to Helen Laughlin and Benton Denman. John went to be with his Lord and Savior on July 11, 2019.

John and his parents moved to Oklahoma City when he was two years old. After attending Classen High School, John left home in 1943 at age seventeen, boarding a train to Ft. Hood to enlist in the Army during WWII. After two years of service, he was honorably discharged as a Tech Corporal.

Following the completion of his undergraduate education at the University of Oklahoma, majoring in zoology, John graduated from medical school at Washington University, St. Louis; at the top of his class. He spent his one-year internship at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas.

For his residency in urology, he spent one year in New Orleans, LA, and two years at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX. Following the completion of his residency, he began private practice in urology at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas in 1957. In 1966 he was one of the original founding doctors at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, and in 1978, was both the Chair of Presbyterian's Urology Department and the hospital's Chief of Staff. He practiced urology at Presbyterian Hospital until retirement in 2000. He was a member of the American Urological Association, the Texas Urological Association and was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

While in Galveston for his internship, John met and began dating Patsy Lee Mabie. They were married in Helena, AR, in 1953. They enjoyed 54 years of happy marriage. Together, they raised three children, traveled the world, and enjoyed many friendships.

John enjoyed playing his clarinet and playing tennis. He began playing the clarinet in junior high school. John derived great satisfaction entertaining with his band at many social events and recorded four cd's of his music for posterity. Tennis was John's sport of choice. He enjoyed playing as frequently as he was able and played into his late 80's. John was an elder at Highland Park Presbyterian Church and later a founding elder at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. He willingly put in countless hours of service during the early days of PCPC.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 19th, at 2:00 pm at Park Cities Presbyterian Church with a reception afterward in Fellowship Hall. A Thursday evening viewing will be at Sparkman-Hillcrest from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home