Nave M.D., Dennis Wayne 


Dennis Wayne Nave, M.D., died on July 21, 2006, from injuries he received in an 
automobile accident. Dennis is survived by his father, Harold W. Nave of Longview, 
Texas; by his children Natalie and Nicholas Nave; and their mother, Laura Nave of 
Shreveport, Louisiana. He is also survived by his brothers, Dale Nave of Wimberley, 
Texas, and Evan Nave of Austin, Texas; and his sister, Lou Vonne Johnson of Caldwell, 
Texas. He is also survived by his loyal friend and office manager, Terry Du Vall, 
and by his best friends of 40 years, Skip Young and Mike Lambert. Dennis was born on 
November 26, 1949, in Eldorado, Illinois, to Harold and Mary Lou Nave. In 1963, the 
Nave family moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Dennis graduated from high school 
and was a champion debater. He attended Oklahoma State University before transferring 
to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 
political science and distinguished himself as a scholar. He then studied the Arabic 
language and Middle Eastern affairs in graduate school at UT and studied abroad both 
in Morocco and at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Dennis then worked for the 
Texas Department of Health for four years as a communicable disease investigator, 
where he became interested in medicine. He then attended Texas A & M University, where 
he took the prerequisite courses for medical school, though he remained a loyal Texas 
Longhorn fan until his death. Dennis earned his degree in medicine from the University 
of Texas at Houston and was licensed to practice medicine in both Louisiana and Texas. 
He was board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 
specializing in geriatric medicine and the mental diseases of the elderly. He began his 
practice in Longview and then practiced in Shreveport for fifteen years, where he served 
a term as president of the Shreveport Medical Society. He also served a number of 
hospitals in smaller towns in the region, including Atlanta Memorial Hospital. He was 
also a member of the American Geriatric Society, the American Association of Geriatric 
Psychiatry, and the Texas Medical Association, and was active in the Louisiana State 
Medical Society. He advocated on behalf of the psychiatric profession and quality medical 
care for patients, especially the elderly, drafted legislation, and testified several 
times before the Louisiana Legislature on issues related to psychiatric medicine. Dennis 
had a great curiosity about the world and a love of learning and research. He was a 
scientist, a gentleman and scholar, a visionary and true Renaissance man. He had an 
intense interest in history, particularly in the history of the Caddo Lake and Red River 
area, and the Civil War. In life he tried to emulate his personal heroes, especially Ben 
Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, with whom he shared certain character 
traits such as tenacity, perseverance in the face of adversity and a jolly sense of humor. 
He was extremely hard working and a man of constant activity and action, with a true sense 
of adventure, guided by a tender heart and generous spirit. He was a caring physician to 
his patients, a loving husband, father, son, and brother, and he will be greatly missed by 
all who knew and loved him. A memorial service will be held at noon on today, July 24, 2006, 
at the First Lutheran Church in Longview, 3901 Bill Owens Parkway. All are welcome to come 
and pay tribute to the life of Dr. Dennis Nave. There will be an informal gathering 
following the service.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 7/24/2006.