Dr. Humphreys

Dr. Marshall Humphreys

By Kelly Warman-Stallings

Published to "Window to the Past" website on 23 August 2022

Dr. Marshall Eugene Humphreys II (pictured on left) was born in Galt, Grundy County, Missouri on 14 Sep 1912. He was the son of Marshall E. Humphreys I (1888-1957) and Euna G. (Reger) Humphreys (1889-1979). He spent his formative years attending public school in Galt.

Dr. Humphreys graduated from Trenton Junior College in 1933. He then proceeded to enter Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery, where he graduated in 1937. Humphreys completed his internship at the Laughlin Osteopathic Hospital in Kirksville, Missouri.

Dr. Myron D. Jones, who attended Kirksville College with Humphreys and opened a medical practice in 1933 in Ulman, specified the need for a physician in Tuscumbia to his fellow classmate. It was the incentive that brought Dr. Humphreys to the county seat in Tuscumbia in 1937.

Marshall Humphreys married Margaret H. Whitfield [of Trenton, Mo.] on 22 April 1932 in Iowa. They had three children: Marjorie A. (1934-2017) married - Dr. Paul Howard in 1953; Martha S. (b. c/1940) married - Mr. Grossman; and, Marshall E. III (1947-2011) married - Janice Hensley in 1966.

Not long after Humphreys graduated in 1937, he moved his family to Tuscumbia and put down permanent roots. He established his first doctor's office, which was located on the second floor, in the Tuscumbia Bank building (pictured on right). According to Dr. Paul Howard, when his wife (Marjorie) was about 4 years old, "she was given the task of leading patients to the clinic through the correct door to the stairway and assisted them again when leaving." It has been recorded she received a nickel, from each patient, for her kind assistance.

Dr. Humphreys originally only had two office rooms in the bank, but later acquired the entire second story. Many patients passed through this medical practice during its duration in this location, as well as cared for a few sick overnight when needed.

By 1939, the doctor built a new home, next to the "new" school (built 1938) and built a small medical facility so he could attend his patients. In 1948, Dr. Humphreys bought a nearby residential home, originally known as the "Goodrich House", and converted it into a hospital and clinic. Five years later, in 1953, he built a new structure that housed a more modern hospital and clinic, equipped with modern equipment of that time. The official grand opening of this hospital occurred on June 20, 1953.

Dr. Humphreys practiced in this facility (pictured on left), which was known as Humphreys Hospital, for many years. He also was employed with the surgery departments at Charles E. Still Hospital in Jefferson City and Pulaski County Memorial Hospital in Waynesville. His brother, Dr. Stanley Humphreys, joined the hospital staff in 1951 and continued practicing there until his untimely death in 1967. Dr. Robert Murrell, who had a doctor office located in Eldon, was also on staff at the hospital, usually administering anesthesia.

After Dr. Paul Howard (Humphreys son-in-law) completed his medical internship, he also joined as full-time staff at the hospital from 1960-1965. Humphreys Hospital treated a large number of people in the years it existed, and several other doctors worked there well into the 1990s, including: Dr. Fred Schekorra, Dr. Ridgeway and Dr. Charles Ludy. Dr. Ludy was the last doctor to practice medicine at Humphreys Hospital.

In the late 1950s, Dr. Humphrey made national news through the Associated Press when he treated an employee of Max Allen's Reptile Gardens for a black mamba snake bite. The employee, Ed McDaniel of Eldon, was bitten by the venomous snake on the back of his middle finger. The black mamba snake is one of the deadliest snakes in the world and if not treated quickly and professionally, a person could die within hours! Humphreys was quick to administer emergency treatment, both on site and at the hospital, having the foreknowledge of where to obtain an emergency shipment of antiserum in time. This became Dr. Humphreys most famous case.

In the late 1960s, Humphreys began to limit his hospital from full medical services to basic serviceability due to the burdensome new Medicare program requirements. Marshall Humphreys remained on staff with Still Hospital during this era. Dr. Howard continued to offer some medical services, such as delivering babies, at the hospital/clinic in Tuscumbia part-time.

Dr. Marshall Humphreys was a member of the American Osteopathic Assn. and the Missouri Osteopathic Assn. He was also a community-oriented man. At one time he was the president of the Bank of Tuscumbia, president of the Tuscumbia R-III schoolboard and president of the Tuscumbia Lions Club. Humphreys was a member of Hickory Hill Lodge 211 - AF & AM, Jefferson City Elks Club Lodge 513, Abou Ben Shrine of Springfield, and a member and elder of the Tuscumbia Christian Church.

Schoolboard members (L to R): Marshall Humphreys, George Barron, Garrett Berry, Frank Martin, Ansel Pryor, Herman Abbett.

There is no doubt that Dr. Humphreys' arrival in Miller County was an important milestone in the county's history. He was one of the first doctors in the county to establish a full-service hospital that provided emergency care, surgery, obstetrical deliveries and child care, as well as up-to-date medical equipment and an experienced nursing staff.

Humphreys Hospital in 2022

Sadly, Dr. Marshall Humphreys died in an automobile accident in Vaiden, Carroll County, Mississippi in March of 1972. His wife, Margaret, sustained critical injuries in this wreck and was hospitalized in Memphis, Tennessee for over four weeks. They were heading home from their vacation in Florida when the accident occurred.

Dr. Marshall E. Humphreys III was laid to rest in the Tuscumbia Cemetery. Margaret (Whitfield) Humphreys was interred beside her husband in 1999.

Obituary/News Article: Miller County Autogram-Sentinel, March 16, 1972

Dr. Marshall E. Humphreys, 59, of Tuscumbia, prominent physician and surgeon who had practiced in Miller County for nearly 35 years, was fatally injured in an accident Friday as he and his wife, Margaret, were en route home from a vacation in Florida. Mrs. Humphreys, who suffered injuries in the accident, is hospitalized for treatment in Memphis, Tenn. She is in traction there, and expected home in four to six weeks.

The Mississippi State Highway Patrol said the two-car accident occurred at 12:15 p.m. on Hwy. 51, two miles south of Vaiden, Miss. Driver of the other car, Jessie Lee, 23, of Memphis, and two passengers in his car were fatally injured, the Patrol said.

Funeral services for Dr. Humphreys were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Tuscumbia Christian Church. Dr. Humphreys was born Sept. 14, 1912, at Galt, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall E. Humphreys, Sr., and attended public schools there. He graduated in 1933 from Trenton Junior College before entering the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery where he was graduated in 1937. He took his internship at the Laughlin Osteopathic Hospital in Kirksville.

He and his wife, the former Miss Margaret Whitfield of Trenton, were married April 22, 1932 in Iowa. Following his graduation they moved to Tuscumbia in 1937 and he established his office in the second story of what was then the Tuscumbia Bank building.

In 1939 they built their home on the hill, and Dr. Humphreys later moved his offices to an area adjacent to the residence. In 1948 he bought the former Pickens residence property, and converted it into the original Humphreys Hospital. A new Humphreys Hospital at the site was completed in 1954.

Dr. Humphreys was also on the staff of Charles E. Still Hospital, Jefferson City, and the Pulaski County Memorial Hospital, Waynesville. He was a member of the American Osteopathic Assn., the Missouri Osteopathic Assn., president of the Bank of Tuscumbia, a former president of the Tuscumbia R-III school board, and past president of the Tuscumbia Lions Club.

He was a member and elder of the Tuscumbia Christian Church. Dr. Humphreys was also a member of Hickory Hill Lodge 211, AF & AM, and of the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine of Springfield, Jefferson City Elks Lodge 513, and the Eldon Golf and Country Club.

In addition to his wife, Margaret, he is survived by one son, Marshall E. Humphreys III, of Tuscumbia; two daughters, Mrs. Marjorie Howard of Tuscumbia and Mrs. Susan Grossman of Chatsworth, Calif.; his mother, Mrs. Euna (Reger) Humphreys of Galt; two brothers, Philip Humphreys of Portland, Ore., and Dr. Alfred Humphreys of Knoxville, Tenn., and eight grandchildren.

Masonic services were conducted at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Stevinson Chapel in Iberia by members of the Hickory Hill, Iberia and Brumley lodges. Raymond Veasman of Dixon was in charge.

The Rev. A. L. Alexander officiated at the funeral services Wednesday afternoon at Tuscumbia. Burial was in the Tuscumbia Cemetery. Active pallbearers were Donald Abbett, Bill Anson, Bill Kessler, Leroy Snodgrass, Ronald Kempker, Henry Schulte, Dr. Fred Schekorra, and Bill Prather. Honorary pallbearers were Dewey Kallenbach, Leonard Kallenbach, Brice Gene Smith, and Irvin Snodgrass. Arrangements were under the direction of Stevinson Funeral Home of Iberia.