Dr. Dwane Minor

Dwane Blake Minor, MD, long-time Tulsa physician and dermatologist, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday morning, November 14 at the age of 97. He was born in Drumright, OK on February 6, 1926 - the first child, and only son to Samuel Basil Minor and Mary Ophelia Bradshaw Minor. Before reaching the age of 5, his family would move to Cushing, Oklahoma where his father opened a Sinclair oil and gas distribution service. As a teenager, he would assist his dad with his business by picking up and delivering both open and sealed oil and gas drums to gas and service stations in the north-central Oklahoma region. For many years, he liked to point out the reckless mindlessness of a typical adolescent in moving these combustible drums to and from his flatbed truck with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Dwane would go on to complete all 12 years of his primary education in Cushing, serving as class president during his senior year before graduating from Cushing High School in May 1944. With World War 2 still raging in both Europe and Asia at the time of his high school graduation, he immediately joined the US Navy - shipping out immediately by rail from Oklahoma to basic training in San Diego, CA. From there he reportedly wrote his parents that, "They can't do this to me!," and vowed to contact his congressmen immediately to "make this stop." His formal protest evidently either never materialized, or never reached sympathetic ears, and so he successfully completed the program - hitchhiking afterwards back to Cushing, Oklahoma for a two week leave. At the end of that leave, he hitchhiked back to California in August 1944, this time to San Francisco where he would deploy on a troop ship with 900 of his fellow sailors. The ship was bound for Guam, where troops were actively preparing to conduct and support amphibious assaults on the beaches of Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. En route to Guam, the ship made a scheduled stop in Hawaii to resupply. There , a request came from the wartime offices at Pearl Harbor for 3 or 4 sailors to stay and supplement the clerical staff there. An officer boarded, asked Dwane, "Can you type?", and when he answered affirmatively, Dwane, was pulled from the ship to spend the remaining year of World War II in relative paradise. He considered it possibly the best evidence he ever received of a 'guardian angel.'. Back stateside in May 1946, Dwane began working towards a college degree with the help of the 'GI Bill.' He initially enrolled at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, completing one semester there before electing to transfer to a university closer to his home town of Cushing. He enrolled at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, but his enrollment there was cut short by a stubborn infection and he had to withdraw and left Stillwater for the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He completed a premed curriculum there in May, 1950, and was admitted to the University of Oklahoma Medical School in Oklahoma City. As a junior med student, he met his future wife, Doris Anita King, then a 24-year old nursing student at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. The 2 dated for several months, ultimately marrying in Lawton on December 20, 1953. Dwane completed medical school in June 1954, electing then to sign on for a second stint with the military - this time with the US Air Force at a rank of Captain. He was initially stationed on the Presidio in San Francisco, where he completed a general medical and surgical internship at Letterman Army Hospital, and welcomed his son, David Blake on July 27, 1954. In addition to his time in San Francisco, he worked periodic rotations at Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, AK. training as a flight surgeon on the in-flight refueling planes that supported the Strategic Air Command bombers which maintained round-theclock positions over the Bering Straight. Completing both his general medical work and obligations to the USAF, in June 1956, he accepted a residency in Dermatology at the University of Oklahoma and moved to Oklahoma City to begin 3 years of training in that field. There in Oklahoma City, the couple welcomed their second child, Mary Elizabeth on November 12, 1956. Completing his residency in June, 1959, the couple elected to make their home in Tulsa. There, in July 1959, Dwane opened a solo dermatology practice at the Medical Arts Building in downtown Tulsa, and when that building was later purchased and leveled to make a parking lot, he rented space in a small office building on the northwest corner of 21st St. and Lewis Ave. Increasingly busy at that location, (also since demolished) he would take in as prospective partners, C. Kendrick, Doran, MD in 1966, and Vincent P Barranco, MD in 1968. The three of them would found a partnership, and build a clinic at 2121 E. 21st St. in 1969, naming it The Tulsa Dermatology Clinic, where he would practice for almost 35 years until his retirement in 2005. At that location, Dwane would see and befriend thousands of patients and also teach countless OU medical students and residents in the field of dermatology. In the 1970's, he was voted "Best Clinical Instructor" by the many young physicians at OU that he mentored. Dwane practiced at this still-active 21st Street location for nearly 35 years until his retirement in 2005. Dwane's extra-clinical interests and activities were numerous and exceptional in both their quality and scope. He was, by any account, an elegant man - informally a 'master' horticulturist, a 'better-than-average' pianist, and could speak articulately and intelligently about almost any topic, including art, music, sports, and current events. He was very significantly also a lifelong and exceptional amateur artist in the mediums of both oil and watercolor. His beautiful home in Tulsa is largely adorned with his own works. At their request, he designed and drew two Christmas cards for the Tulsa County Medical Society in the late 1960's and later entered a watercolor seascape into a multi-media competition at an international medical meeting in San Francisco where he won "Best in Show." He was also a discerning art collector and his house is adorned with works by many of the commercial artists he most admired. He was also a lifelong member, supporter, contributor, and lover of the Tulsa Ballet. Beyond these and many other skills and interests, he will likely be best remembered by those who knew him as gentle, soft-spoken, polite, and invariably kind - in essence a consummate gentleman. His unerring interest, concern, empathy and gratitude for his family, friends, employees, and at the end, his caretakers seemed largely unequaled by any other. Of no surprise to anyone who knew him, his last six words were "Thank you. Thank you so much". Dwane Minor was preceded in death by Doris, his wife of 49 years, both his parents, 2 of his 3 sisters, and closest friends Paul Roll, Jean Anderson Simpson, and Jay O'melia. He is survived by his 2 children, son David, and daughter Mary Beth Morrissey, both of Tulsa. Also by David's 3 children, Alden Minor McPherson (and her husband Sean McPherson) of Palos Verdes, CA, Emily Blake Patterson (and her husband Dylan) of New York City, and Blake Everett Minor of Tulsa, as well as by grandsons, Gregory Minor Morrissey, MD of Wichita, KS and Graham Joseph Morrissey of Tulsa. Also by great grandsons, Connor (age 5) and James (age 2) McPherson of Palos Verdes, CA., and godson, Mark Hansen of Plano, TX. Last, the family would like to extend their sincerest thanks to Dwane's devoted and loving caregivers, Dee Smith and Inna Jones. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that any contributions in memory of Dwane Minor be made to Tulsa Ballet or Family and Children's Services.

Dr. Dwane Minor

February 6, 1926 - November 14, 2023