Dr. David Verle Rodgers

Dr. David Verle Rodgers. , Verle was one of five children born to Don E. And Nanny L. Rodgers. He graduated from Gorman High School in 1927, attended Weatherford Junior College, Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry College in Abilene, and Texas Tech. He and Buryl Blackwell were married in 1932. Before being persuaded to go to Medical School by his father-in-law, Dr. George Blackwell, he was a schoolteacher at Alameda and as a Sunday school teacher, was active in church. He graduated from Baylor Medical School in 1937 and served his internship at the Baptist Hospital In New Orleans. In 1928 he began general practice in Gorman. In 1943 the third floor of Blackwell Hospital was completed, accompanied by the installation of an electric elevator; the fourth floor was added in 1947., Dr. Rodgers endeared himself to countless families during his thirty-three year practice at Blackwell Hospital and Clinic. After many hours of seeing patients in the clinic, making rounds in the hospital and performing surgery, he otten made house calls, meeting patients' needs both day and night. He was a bank director at First National Bank, a rancher, a strong bridge player and served on the school board from 1945 until 1953 when severe heart trouble almost took his life., By 1965, Dr. Rodgers was credited with having delivered over 8,300 babies, more than enough to populate Gorman 7 times, including three of his four children (George, Edward, Jim and Linda), one daughter-in-law and seven of his eight grandchildren. He touched the life of almost every person in Gorman and the surrounding area during the three decades of his medical practice. In June 1965, the cltizens of Gorman proclaimed a "Dr. D.V. Rodgers Appreciation Week." Dr. Rodgers was killed in an automobile accident January 3, 1971. His 6'4" frame carried a wealth of knowledge in the skills of the art of healing. In many hearts and many families the "Appreciation Week" will never end. Thank You "Doc" for your best.