Samuel Wesley Denham Jr., M.D.

DENHAM, Samuel Wesley Denham, Jr., M.D., died July 23, 2011. He was born in Atlanta, GA, October 3, 1922. He graduated from Emory University where he was a member of Sigma Chi. In 1946 he received his doctor of medicine degree from Emory University Medical School where he was a member of Phi Chi medical fraternity.

He served for two years as a captain in the United States Army, 1st Infantry Division, stationed at the 98th General Hospital, Munich, Germany. Following discharge, he completed a residency in pathology and was a cancer service trainee of the American Cancer Society. He was a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, GA, and in 1953 entered practice in Jacksonville.

Dr. Denham was a member of the Duval County Medical Society and the Florida Medical Society. He served as president of the Florida OB/GYN Society, the Jacksonville OB/GYN Society, and the Florida Division of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Denham was a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of the South Atlantic Society of OB/GYN.

Dr. Denham was a trustee of The Bolles School and Buckner Manor and a board member of the American Cancer Society and the Jacksonville Symphony Association. In 1966 he received The American Cancer Society Merit Award for advancing the use of the Papanicolaou test (Pap smear) to detect and prevent cervical cancer.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Reddick Denham, Cuthbert, GA. He is survived by his son, Sam Wesley Denham, III, Jacksonville, FL; daughter Camilla Denham Pernice, Savannah, GA; daughter and son-in-law Leigh and Larry Bottomley, Lawrenceville, GA; granddaughter Christine Michelle Bottomley, Savannah, GA; granddaughter Marie Elizabeth Bottomley, Birmingham, AL, and daughter and son-in-law Anne and Michael Weiss, Charlotte, NC. He is survived also by his first cousin, Robin Lnenicka, Smyrna, GA., and by niece Kay Denham, Savannah, GA. and by niece Mary Acuff, Silver Spring, MD.

A gathering to celebrate his life will be held at 4:00 p.m. Friday, July 29, 2011 at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 1701 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, Fl. A reception will follow from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.

The family extends thanks to the kind personal care assistants from Apex Healthcare Solutions and to the nurses and staff from Community Hospice of Northeast Florida who cared for our father in his last days.

Memorials may be made to The Jacksonville Symphony Association, The American Cancer Society, or to the charity of your choice.