James Willard Kemper M.D.

James W. Kemper, M.D., passed away peacefully at his beloved home on Tuesday, the 9th of January 2024, at the age of 96, with his wife, Julie Catterton Kemper, by his side, just nine days after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. He and Julie married on New Year’s Eve of 1973, blending a family with his two daughters and her three sons, about which he liked to say, “A pair and three of a kind is a full house in anyone’s game.”

Jim and Julie loved playing tennis, reading, and traveling, sharing adventures throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. Jim also relished studying and collecting wines and particularly enjoyed trips to tour French vineyards. His love of music, books, theater, puns, and each of us enriched our lives, and he will be deeply missed.

Jim was born on the 24th of May 1927, to the late Garvey Elliston and Elizabeth Smith Kemper, and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Warren Central High School, where he excelled at debate, ran track, and played football. A piano player for most of his life, he formed a band with friends that played for high school dances. He graduated early in December of 1944, enlisted in the Army Air Corps Reserve, and entered Indiana University in January of 1945.

Near the end of World War II, Jim was called to active duty. He attended radio operator school and served as an instructor in the Army Air Corps. A year later, he received his honorable discharge and returned to IU, where, as a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, he formed a musical quartet to entertain fellow students. He graduated in 1949.

Jim knew from an early age that he wanted to be a physician. He attended IU School of Medicine and, after graduating in 1952, he married Carolyn Allee, the mother of his daughters. The following year, they moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where Jim spent four years at the Mayo Clinic training to specialize in internal medicine with a sub-specialty in rheumatology. While there, he also received a Master of Science in Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota.

Three years prior to Jim’s arrival at the Mayo Clinic, two of his future professors, Drs. Philip Hench and Edward Kendall co-won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of cortisone. This new potential treatment for what was then the crippling disease of rheumatoid arthritis greatly influenced Jim’s decision to pursue a career in rheumatology.

In 1957, Jim was invited by Drs. Mavis and John Kelsey to become Kelsey-Seybold Clinic’s sixth physician and first rheumatologist. He founded and served as chief of the rheumatology section. During his 41-year career with Kelsey-Seybold, he served 15 years as Chairman of the Board of Directors, guiding the clinic through significant changes in the business of medicine.

As clinical professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in the early years of his practice, Jim helped develop the college’s rheumatology service and recruit a full-time chief. His hospital appointments included chief of rheumatology at St. Luke’s Hospital and internal medicine consulting staff at The Methodist Hospital. He was a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology, a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, Texas Club of Internists, Harris County Medical Society, and the Houston Society of Internal Medicine. He helped organize the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and served as its president. He was president of the National Society of Clinical Rheumatologists. In addition, he served on the board of the Kelsey Research Foundation beginning in 1985.

He was also a member of the Executives Association of Houston Breakfast Club, the Houston Philosophical Society, Houston Committee on Foreign Relations and the Houston Country Club.

Jim is predeceased by his parents and first wife. He is survived by his wife, Julie Catterton Kemper, and their children and families: Katherine Kemper Putnam and her husband Michael, and their son Mortimer, of Houston; Deborah Kemper and her daughter Sarah, of Mill Valley, California; Alex Dancy, and his wife Shelly, and their daughters Anicka, Leighton and Emmalia, of Cumming, Georgia; Claiborne Dancy and his wife Martha, and their daughter Elizabeth of Houston; Blair Dancy and his wife Allison, and their sons Blakley and Gabriel of Austin; his sister-in-law, Ann Catterton Brown and her husband Irving James (Sonny) of El Paso; and their children and families.

The family is grateful for the exceptional care and friendship given by Michael Newmark, M.D.; the guidance of Debra Gummelt, D.O.; and the devotion of Efrain Lopez, who transitioned from a 30-year employment with the family to that of a caregiver. The family is also thankful to Ruth Covenas, Chris Barnes, Bobbie Griffin, Sonia Gudiel, Patrick Averil, and Felipa Huitz for their attentive care, and to Ellen Moreton, owner of Homewatch Caregivers of Houston.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, the 3rd of February, from three o’clock until five o’clock in the afternoon at 1 Potomac Drive in Houston.

The family will gather for a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, those desiring may direct memorial contributions to Kelsey Research Foundation, 5615 Kirby Dr., Suite 660, Houston, TX, 77005, 713-442-1214; https://www.kelseyresearch.com/gift; to Arthritis Foundation, Gulf Coast Chapter, 1355 Peachtree St., Suite 600, Atlanta, GA, 30309, www.arthritis.org; or to the charity of one’s choice.

Please visit Dr. Kemper’s online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where fond memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family by selecting the “Add a Memory” icon.