John Chapin Koomen

John Chapin Koomen, MD, 79, passed away peacefully at home in Nashville, TN on January 30th, 2025, after a brave battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was surrounded by his loving wife and family members. John was born August 10th, 1945, in Rochester, New York to Jacob Koomen and Ruth Chapin Koomen.

Following John’s 8th birthday, the family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. His family members and those closest to him called him “Scotty”. John graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in English. Following college, he went on to graduate school at the University of Chicago to pursue a Master’s in English and joined the Chicago Urban Teacher Corps. In 1968, John met the love of his life, Elizabeth “Betsy” Bedell, at the wedding of John’s longtime friend, Robert Underwood, and Betsy’s sister, Louisa Bedell. Their infatuation for one another was immediate and their correspondence through letters lasted their long-distance relationship while John lived in Chicago and Betsy lived in Florida. They were married shortly thereafter in December 1970. He then went on to serve in the United States Air Force for four years as a translator where he learned Mandarin Chinese and was stationed overseas in Japan, and then Taiwan. During John and Betsy’s time living abroad, they loved living in Japan and Taiwan, and the friends they made teaching English conversation. They always held dear the time they spent at the beginning of their marriage living in these two beautiful island nations. Following his honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, John went to the University of North Carolina School of Medicine where he graduated in 1979 with a specialty in psychiatry. He then completed his residency at Vanderbilt University, which brought him to Nashville, where he and Betsy have happily lived ever since raising their four boys.

John began his career as a psychiatrist in 1984 with a private practice. Following his initial private practice, he worked at Goodlark Residential Treatment Center (became Jackson Academy), Tennessee Christian Medical Center, and finally at Centerstone until his retirement in 2022. Even after his retirement, he continued supervising nurse practitioners until a couple months before his passing. His continued professional work late in his life was driven by his love for people and unrelenting work ethic.

John was an avid learner in all aspects of his life, but he was especially fond of music and music history. His tastes in music were broad and included an early affinity for classical music. He often had “phases” wherein he would consume all recordings and literature related to specific performers across an eclectic range of music, from classical to country, and rock and roll from its beginnings to the present. Whether he had his headphones on in the grocery store, had the car stereo loud enough to hear across the parking lot, or was listening to records in his office, he could not escape his lifelong love of music.

He was a devoted, loving, and supportive father to Ben, Van (Katie), TJ and David, and his grandson Joe, who miss him dearly and cherish the life lessons he imparted to them. He was supportive and proud of each one of his sons and always encouraged their endeavors. He enjoyed cheering them on at their soccer, basketball, lacrosse and football games, taking them to plays and musical performances, and participating with them in Boy Scouts. He loved taking his grandson, Joe, to Cars and Coffee on Saturday mornings where he was immersed in yet another field of knowledge, still learning from another generation. He loved reading Calvin and Hobbes to his children, and then his grandson. At night, they could be heard laughing when he was supposed to be reading them to sleep.

John was preceded in death by his parents, his oldest son Ben, and is survived by his wife of 54 years Betsy, his sisters Marcia Koomen and Nancy Della Rovere, his brother Neil Koomen, his sons Daniel (Van), Thomas (TJ) and David, his daughter-in-law Katie, and his grandson Joe.

He accepted his diagnosis and illness with an uncomplaining grace. He met the end of his journey on this earth with positivity, gratitude, and love for all, just as he had his whole life. He will always be missed and remembered for his sweetness, his patience, his kindness to others, and his inability to say no to any request. He loved his family, his many dogs and cats over the years, his patients, the nurses he worked with for supervision, and all of his colleagues.

An informal open house gathering will be held in the Woodlawn Chapel (660 Thompson Ln, Nashville, TN 37204) Saturday, February 22 from 10:00 am to Noon. The family asks, in lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to The Compassionate Friends and/or Alive Hospice.