John L. Denby, MD

Dr. John L. Denby died on January 31, 2023. Following Yale, John pursued a career as a surgeon beginning at Duke University Medical School, followed by Ohio State University Medical Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Baylor University Methodist Hospital. He became a Fellow of American College of Surgeons and started his surgical practice in Springfield, Illinois, in 1965. From 1967 to 1969 he served as a Commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps and became the last battleship surgeon while aboard the USS New Jersey (BB62) during the Vietnam War. Following his Naval service, John returned to Springfield and practiced at both Memorial and St. John’s Hospitals as well as Abraham Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln, Illinois. From 1970 to 2000, John was a founding clinical faculty and Clinical Professor of Surgery at Southern Illinois University Medical School. He was a member of various medical and surgical societies but showed the variety of his interests as a member of Island Bay Yacht Club, U.S. Polo Association, Angus Cattle Breeders, and Illinois Farm Bureau.