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Jess from VA
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« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2014, 05:01:24 PM » |
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I sure was hoping to be able to read a copy of any obituary (usually containing a brief history of the deceased). EDIT: Just looked again, and found it. Donald Calhoun Chavous Jr. (1952 - 2014)  Donald Calhoun Chavous Jr., MD, JD, 61, of Rancho Mirage, passed away July 29, 2014, in his sleep. Born Aug. 11, 1952, to Donald and Patricia Chavous, Don spent his early years in Bushnell, Florida. In 1967, Don received a congressional appointment to work as a page for the House of Representatives. He lived and worked in Washington, D.C., from 1967-1969, attending the Capitol Page School. Classes were held in the attic of the Library of Congress, during some of the most turbulent times in Washington, D.C., history. He received his high school diploma in 1969, at the age of 16. Don became a student at the University of Florida, majoring in chemical engineering. Just prior to completing his bachelor's degree, he was awarded the unheard of opportunity of early transfer to medical school at the University of Miami, achieving his Medical Doctorate (M.D.) in 1976. From 1977-1980, Don served as a doctor in the Navy, with the rank of lieutenant commander - traveling from Pearl Harbor to the Bering Sea, and eventually to Moffett Field, California. After working in California at Cupertino Medical Clinic (1980-1982), he co-founded and directed Los Altos Medical Clinic in 1983. It was around this time he fell in love with a nurse, Linda Larson, and her 6-year-old son, David. They married Sept. 9, 1985, and had a daughter, Emily, in 1988. Always one for a challenge, Don returned to school at Santa Clara University of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) in 1995. While still hard at work full time as a physician, he began work as an attorney with his own private practice, specializing in medical malpractice and personal injury. In 1998, the family relocated to sunny Southern California, where Don continued double duty as an attorney-at-law as well as full time urgent care physician, saving lives with Desert Medical Group (now Desert Oasis Healthcare). Over the years, Don was an avid skier, tennis player, basketball player, golfer, hiker, and loved watching ESPN. He had a passion for the open road, and took many long rides across the Western U.S. on his '97 Valkyrie motorcycle, becoming very involved with the Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club. He had memberships with the local gun clubs, and enjoyed going out for target practice. He is remembered for his sharp wit and keen sense of humor, his stimulating political banter, loyalty to friends and coworkers, and his fundamental human decency. Don had the nickname "AAA": he made himself available to help anyone - Anytime, Anywhere, for Anything. Don is survived by his wife, Linda Chavous; two children: David Berry of Portland, Oregon, and Emily Chavous of La Quinta, California; four granddaughters, Pearl, Sayde, Ginger and Rosie; his mother, Patricia Chavous, of Tampa, Florida; and siblings Shirley Purvis, of Leesburg, Florida; Alan Chavous of Tampa; Terri Bonner of Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Brian Chavous of Oxford, Florida; his in-laws Larry and Marjean Larson of Rancho Mirage, California; countless friends and colleagues; and by the family cat, Bebe. In Don's honor, it is requested that donations be made to the Yosemite Conservancy (www.yosemiteconservancy.com). He visited the national park numerous times. Regarding his bucket list of travel, in February he wrote, "Overall, Yosemite is my personal favorite. So huge, and spectacular hiking in so many places."Undergrad and MD degree by age 24 is impressive. So was the follow-on JD at 43. He never told us he had been a Congressional page...... probably a good thing.  Thanks for sharing with us Don AAA.  |
