Stephen Lee Deardourff M.D.'s Obituary
Stephen Lee Deardourff M.D., age 75, of Gainesville, Florida passed away on January 12, 2018 after a brief illness.
Dr. Deardourff was born in Greenville, Ohio on January 15, 1942 to David Deardourff, a newspaper editor and Ella Deardourff, a nurse, both of Greenville. He was the youngest of three brothers, John and David.
Dr. Deardourff graduated from Greenville High School in 1960 where he was president of his senior class and played basketball, tennis and golf. He then attended The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on an academic scholarship where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in Microbiology. In 1964 he began medical school at The Ohio State University College of Medicine where he studied under scholarship, was the president of his class and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical honorary. It was while he was a medical student that Steve would meet the love of his life, Margie Lynne George, then a nursing student. Though each attended Ohio State they did not meet until he stumbled into her (literally) while on a “Where the Boys Are” spring break trip in Ft. Lauderdale. Their romance followed them from the Florida beaches to “The Oval” in Columbus, Ohio.
He graduated from medical school in 1968 and married Margie in June of that same year. Knowing that the United States Government was drafting doctors to help with the war effort in Vietnam, he preemptively enlisted in the US Army in 1968 and was sent to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii where he completed his first year of internship (and spent a yearlong honeymoon on the beaches).
His first of three children, a daughter, Stephanie Lynn, was born in Columbus Ohio in September 1969. Two weeks after her birth he began his de-facto medical internship, serving in-country in Vietnam as a medical officer and combat surgeon in the Army’s 1st Infantry “The Big Red One.” There he applied his healing talents to officers and POW’s caught in the horrors of war. He was stationed at the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh, the largest evac hospital in Vietnam, and as a combat surgeon he personally assisted on over 100 helicopter missions. He was in-country from September 1969 to September 1970. Once back on the mainland, he, his wife Margie and his now year old daughter Stephanie moved to Coral Gables, Florida where he completed his remaining army obligations.
In 1971, while deciding where he would undertake his residency, he took a road trip to Gainesville, Florida where he reunited with his old Ohio State medical school buddies Dr. Philip Hess and Dr. Jack Hollenbeck. He fell in love with the town and the opportunities the medical community could provide him and during that same trip bought his first house in Northwest Gainesville.
He completed his residency training in Urologic Surgery at Shands at UF in 1974. That year brought two additional milestones to his life: the birth of his second daughter Debra Ellen and the opening of his private practice of Urology in Gainesville. He was the first Urologist at North Florida Regional Medical Center, back when it was more cow pasture than medical complex. In 1976 he recruited boyhood (and college) friend and Greenville, Ohio native Dr. John Timmons to Gainesville and the Urologic office of Deardourff-Timmons was born. 1978 brought the birth of his youngest child Timothy David, his only son and favorite golfing partner.
From their office behind North Central Florida Regional Medical Center, the dynamic duo of Dr. D. and Dr. T. combined their medical expertise and engaging personalities to provide excellent medical care to patients from as far as South Florida to Valdosta, Georgia for decades. Their sense of humor and professionalism brought ease to patients and they provided a high paced, vibrant and fun environment for fellow nurses and staff, many of whom loyally worked alongside Dr. Deardourff for decades. Dr. Deardourff loved learning about the lives of his patients, from brainy professors to salt of the earth potato farmers, his career presenting him with a beautiful cross-section of humanity with whom tales were told and jokes were traded. He loved surgery and at one time he served as Chief of Surgery at North Florida Regional Medical Center. Often he would scrub in on other doctor’s surgical cases to observe and admire their work. In 2007, after 33 years as a practicing Urologist, Dr. Deardourff walked away from the operating table and retired.
Steve was an avid golfer, who began playing and caddying in his early boyhood. One of his nicknames on the course was “The Arrow” because of how straight he hit it off the tee. During his life he was fortunate to play some of the greatest courses in the world with family and friends. In 2001 he joined his son’s friends on an epic golf trip to Northern and Southern Ireland where they played such greats as Royal Portrush and Royal County Down. Perhaps his proudest moment as a golfer was when he fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing with Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill Club. Towards his later years he was most at home playing at the UF Golf Course where he once shot his age!
Though he honored his Buckeye heritage, Gainesville was Steve’s true home. He was an ardent Gator Golf, Football and Basketball booster and fan. He was a self-avowed college basketball nut and attended many Final Four Tournaments over the years. He was able to see his favorite team the Florida Gators win a championship in person but as he said, “I don’t care which team is going. I’m going.”
Dr. Deardourff was also an avid traveler. He treated his family to multiple trips to Europe, and to places as far ranging as California to Canada, opening their minds to a world beyond their home. But he was at his best at the helm of a car on the Great American Road Trip. As one of his favorite writers as a young man, Jack Kerouac, wrote, “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
Father, grandfather, healer, friend and veteran, Dr. Deardourff is now on the road to Heaven and is survived by his wife of 49 years, Margie Lynne Deardourff, his three children Stephanie McKinney, Debra Larsen and Timothy Deardourff, his five grandchildren Matthew (15), twins Julia and Ryan (12), Max (8) and Rory (7). He was a proud “Papa” to these grandchildren and left an imprint of good humor, respect for others, honesty and unwavering love that will last for years to come.
There will be two memorial occasions for Dr. Stephen Deardourff: The family will receive friends Wednesday, January 17, 2018 from 6pm to 8pm at WILLIAMS-THOMAS FUNERAL HOME WESTAREA, 823 NW 143rd St. Newberry, FL 32669. A separate “Celebration of Life” memorial with toasts and storytelling will take place Thursday, January 18, 2018 beginning at 6pm at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Touchdown Terrace, North End Zone 121 Gale Lemerand Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611, concluding at 8pm.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the Wounded Warrior Project, The American Heart Association or a charity of your choice.
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