Dr. John Peter Louwerens

Memorial services for Dr. John Peter Louwerens  will be held at St. James Episcopal Church in Greenville on Thursday, September 27 at 1:00 pm. Dr. John Peter Louwerens passed away on September 12, 2018 at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, MS.  Boone Funeral Home, Greenville is in charge of arrangements.

He is survived by his wife, Charlene Munro Louwerens; daughter Monica Renee Kenyon and spouse George Kenyon; daughter Andrea Vanessa Dager and spouse Kevin Dager; and his two grandchildren, John Louwerens Dager and Vivian Marie Dager.

John was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 22, 1948.  His parents, John Franciscus and Christina Bakker Louwerens, were born in Amsterdam, Holland.  They moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1964.  John and Charlene met at the University of British Columbia and were married in August, 1969.  John completed his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in chemistry at the University of British Columbia.  He completed an MD degree at Memorial University, St. John’s Newfoundland, in May 1979, completed his residency in 1980, and was certified with the College of Family Physicians of Canada in May 1981. 

In December 1981, he and his family moved from Canada to Leland, Mississippi, having chosen the Delta from various opportunities available through a recruiting company in Atlanta.  The whole family was thrilled to embark on this new adventure and arrived into town with two Newfoundland ponies in tow. 

John was registered with the Mississippi State Medical Board and then opened his practice in Leland in January 1982 with the help of Clint and Ellen Ann Johnson and Taylor and Sue Webb.  Though they had left their family in Vancouver, Canada, they were embraced by a new “extended family” in the Delta.  John was an active member of the community and a dedicated member of the Leland Lions Club.  He and Charlene attended the International Lion’s Club Conference in Chicago last summer where he proudly wore the new Lions Club vest that he had made especially for the occasion as a representative of the Leland Lions.

John faithfully served at a number of Mississippi emergency rooms, including the King’s Daughters Hospital ER from 1990 – 2005, the Delta Regional Medical Center ER in Greenville from 2005-2009, and the Bolivar Medical Center ER in Cleveland from 2009-2018.  During his medical career, he also worked part-time at the emergency rooms of the Highland Community Hospital at Picayune, MS; the Baptist Desoto Hospital Southaven, MS; and the South Sunflower County Hospital in Indianola, MS.  John was a member of NES (National Emergency Services).  In addition to his ER work, from 1997 – 2013, he worked part-time at the Leland Medical Clinic, first owned by King’s Daughters Hospital and later by Dr. Ned Kronfol. 

John was an avid outdoorsman and Master Scuba Diver.  He and his family enjoyed snow skiing and scuba diving together.  He especially loved taking the family out on Lake Chicot for a day of water skiing, wakeboarding and jet skiing.  He loved to provide exciting inner tube rides, typically characterized by a plentiful supply of serpentine maneuvers and numerous opportunities for bouncing wildly over the boat’s wake. 

Among many lessons, he taught his daughters the importance of promptness, compassion, and of being true to your word.  He expressed love, patience, and generosity and was never one to shy away from helping people or going the extra mile to accomplish a task.  Like his own father, he had a wonderful sense of humor and relished a good joke.  Presenting fireworks displays on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve was a favorite highlight of each year.  He was very mechanically inclined and possessed a talent for working on cars, boats, lawn mowers – anything with an engine.  He had a particular passion for cars and loved watching formula one races on TV with his family.  As the only male in the house, he was outnumbered, but he took it in stride and was extremely supportive of his daughters’ activities, including horseback riding (taking care of the black widow spiders and wasps in the barn), dance recitals, and plays.  He was a loyal supporter of Delta Center Stage where his wife, Charlene, continues to design and paint sets for productions.  He is beloved and deeply missed and will always be remembered as a wonderful husband, father, and individual who loved serving the community.

Memorials may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.