LITTLE ROCK — For six weeks during his senior year of medical school, Dr. Melvin “Lanny” Belknap cared for a premature baby named Luke, who had little chance of survival. However, Belknap’s determination paid off - months later, the boy’s parents sent him photos of their young son, happy and thriving.
“He said there was not anything in the world like seeing a baby and being a part of bringing that life into the world,” said his wife, Jean Belknap. “He didn’t know how anybody could not believe in God with seeing a newborn baby.”
Belknap, a doctor for 30 years, died Saturday at his North Little Rock home from rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary fibrosis complications, his family said.
He was 77.
In 1967, Belknap received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He went into general practice with two other doctors and did everything from delivering babies to making house calls.
“We had people ringing our doorbell, saying they were sick and needed Dad, and he’d tell him what to do,” said his son, Jim Belknap.
The practice eventually became North Little Rock Family Practice Clinic.
“The patient was not just another statistic or another chart, they were a human and he knew the patient’s mother, father and all their kids, maybe their grandparents,” said his son, Michael Belknap. “He’d ... bring home a ham or a deer shoulder, we had a new afghan every week,” from happy patients.
Many times, Belknap accepted small payments, if any, from low-income patients, and never sugarcoated a medical diagnosis.
“He would listen to their stories,” Jean Belknap said.“He used to say so many times, that the elderly [he saw], they did not need to come to the doctor. They just needed someone to talk to and he really enjoyed that.”
A heart of compassion, Belknap often volunteered medical services to orphans at the former St. Joseph’s Home in North Little Rock, his sons said. In 1999, during his retirement, Belknap worked for about two weeks with Doctors Without Borders in Honduras.
“The thing that affected him the most was these young girls having babies, just 13- or 14-year-old girls,” Jean Belknap said. “He felt really good about going and contributing but thought, ‘What do they do when we’re not there’ ... he really worried about that.”
Though his practice was a priority, Belknap always made time for family. With Jim it was hunting, and with Michael, it was fishing on Lake Ouachita, but everyone enjoyed time at Mountain Harbor Resort.
“When the boys had ball games, sometimes he wouldn’t get there until halftime, but he made it,” his wife said.
Belknap had a book to match each one of his interests, which included ham radio, photography, woodworking and building projects, his wife said.
“If he had something on his mind, he got a book and learned how to do it,” Jean Belknap said, adding he once built a windsurfer.
A faithful member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in North Little Rock, Belknap believed God had a hand in the outcome for his patients, his family said.
“He always said he didn’t know how a doctor could practice if they didn’t have faith,” Jim Belknap said. “He believed medicine was faith ... he always said if somebody didn’t have faith, they may get by and heal but it’s not the same.”
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 01/08/2013