William Mims Allums, M.D.

SHREVEPORT, LA - On June 28, 2014, William Mims Allums, Sr. quietly and peacefully passed away in his sleep at home and surrounded by loved ones. He was born on September 26, 1920, in Ringgold, Louisiana, to Dr. William Benjamin Allums and Grace Graham Mims Allums. He attended Allen Parish schools and was home schooled in New York City in 1928. He attended Barret Street School where he was a member of the harmonica band; C.E. Byrd High School where he was a member of the Debate Team and where he also became an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Centenary College of Louisiana with a BS degree in August 1941. He was enrolled in Tulane University Medical School when Pearl Harbor was attacked, enlisted in the Naval Reserves in March 1942 and graduated February 12, 1944. He was called to active duty as a Lieutenant Junior Grade at the United States Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina where he served from 1946 to 1948. He interned and had his residencies in Shreveport at the Charity Hospital. He practiced internal medicine with Dr. Marion Hargrove, Sr. and William Hall, Sr. for ten years and then in partnership with Dr. Dan Earle Russell until he retired in 2007, after sixty-one years. Dr. Allums served as President of the Shreveport Medical Society in 1972; and the Louisiana Society of Internal Medicine in 1973. He was awarded the American College of Physicians Laureate Award for Louisiana in March 2003. He was a member of the American Society of Internal Medicine, a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He was affiliated with Schumpert, Physicians and Surgeons, Fairfield and Doctor's Hospitals and Willis-Knighton Health Care System. He also taught Internal Medicine as a Lecturer at LSU Medical School when it first opened in Shreveport. Dr. Allums was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. William Benjamin Allums and Grace Graham Mims Allums; his sister, Mary Elizabeth Allums, and his first wife Barbara Bennett Johnston Allums, and second wife Margaret Biggs Moss Allums, and son William Mims Allums, Jr. He is survived by his son Johnston Lyon Allums of Dallas, daughter Betsy Allums Widhalm of Natchitoches and her husband, Patrick Widhalm; and his son Reverend Robert Marion Allums of Chicago and his wife, Helen Gates Allums and grandchildren Kathryn Anne Widhalm, Mary Elizabeth Widhalm, Robert Benjamin Allums and wife Jennifer, Lydia Erin Leggett and husband Aaron and Mary Emily Allums. He is also survived by step-sons Dr. Samuel Riley Moss and wife, Michelle and Robert Biggs Moss and wife, Linda of Lafayette, Louisiana, and step-daughter Molly Moss Stautzenberger and husband, Duane (Dooney) of Shreveport and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Honoring Dr. Allums as pallbearers will be Daniel Robert Harris of Shreveport, Robert Benjamin Allums of Plainfield, Illinois, Patrick Robert Widhalm of Natchitoches, Lloyd Stanley Knotts of Shreveport, John Lamar Gresham of Shreveport, Dr. Charles \"Chuck\" Knight of Shreveport and Dr. John Underwood of Shreveport, Louisiana. Serving as Honorary pallbearers will be J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., of Washington, D. C., Dr. Eugene St. Martin of Shreveport, Dr. Richard \"Dick\" Langford of Shreveport, Thomas \"Tom\" Gresham of Shreveport, Dr. John Lochridge of Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Arthur Fort of Shreveport, Michael Dennis Posey of Shreveport, Members of the Couples Sunday School Class of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, Members of the Shreveport Stock Syndicate. Dr. Allums, affectionately called \"Billy Mims,\" was loved by many. His love of life and his love of his patients and the practice of medicine were contagious. He loved the challenging medical case which caused him to become a "medical detective" and collect clues to cure the patient's malady. He used to say, "If you listen to people long enough, they will eventually tell you what is wrong with them. But you have to listen." He also loved his family, his friends, and his patients. He enjoyed investing, politics, travel, golf and had a lifelong-passion for railroads. He died with hope believing in God's promises and looking forward to the life to come. He did not suffer and had time to say good-bye to family and friends and make arrangements. His mind was clear and lucid and his sense of humor completely intact to the very last. Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church, 543 Ockley Dr., Shreveport, on Thursday July 3, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Forest Park Cemetery, St. Vincent Ave. Officiating will be Dr. Jeff Raines. Visitation will be held at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport, Louisiana 71101 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. The family suggests memorials may be made to "A Praying Life Ministries\" in care of See Jesus Ministries, P. O. Box 197, Telford, Pennsylvania 18969. Dr. Allums wishes to give a special thanks to the three special people who took such good care of him in his last days, Barbara Brock, Melinda Williams and Wanda Whitehurst. \"He was a man, Horatio. We shall not see the likes of him again.\"