Jeri Ward, Executive Director. Operation Walk Los Angeles
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Operation Walk Founder Dr. Lawrence Dorr. There will be many tributes to him over the coming months, but I would like to take a moment at the end of a most difficult year to tell you about Dr. Dorr, “The Man”.
I met him in 1983 when he joined Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedics in Inglewood, CA. I was a new R.N. at Centinela Hospital. His reputation preceded him. It was drilled into us that he was a powerful joint replacement surgeon, and that he was a tough task master. He wanted everything to be just great for his patients. I heard him before I saw him. His booming laugh echoed the halls as he exited the elevator and walked onto the ward with Dr. Clarence Shields. He came around and met all the nurses and Physical Therapists, giving us ideas on what his vision was for developing a joint replacement program.
Dr. Richard “Dickey” Jones was a football letterman for the Florida Gators and was Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated with Alpha Omega Alpha distinction from the University of Florida College of Medicine. Following residency at Parkland and UT Southwestern Dallas Texas, Dr. Jones did a fellowship in joint reconstruction at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, England and acted as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery for the U.S. Army at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He served as Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Dallas V. A. Hospital for 35 years.
Dr. Lawrence Dorr invited me to join the April 2019 mission to Havana, Cuba, my first with Operation Walk. Not knowing what to expect at the initial meeting, I was introduced to the entire team, nearly 60 strong, many who had known and worked with each other several times prior.