ATSU’s evolving legacies: Meet three legacy families with lineage spanning multiple disciplines
Posted: July 17, 2024
For more than a century, the term “ATSU legacy family” was rightfully associated with a single thing – multiple generations of ATSU-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) graduates from the same family.
With more than 130 years of history as the world’s founding school of osteopathic medicine, it made sense children seeking to become physicians would follow their parent’s footsteps to Kirksville, Missouri. But as ATSU continues to grow, the definition of “legacy family” must grow, as well. The University’s addition of programs across health sciences, educational, and administrative disciplines has allowed diverse options for new generations of students whose interests may have been sparked by a parent’s journey, but whose passions lie along a slightly different path.
They may not always complete the same program as their parents, but proudly attend the same university, one in which whole person healthcare and service to the underserved are woven into the blue and white threads binding all of ATSU together.
THE KENNEDYS
They were introduced to each other in 1994 by Lori Haxton, MA, vice president for student affairs, who was then in admissions, and, by alphabetical order, their last names – Kennedy and Keller – put them next to each other in the anatomy lab.
That’s how Russ Kennedy, DO, ’98, and Mary Kennedy, DO, ’98, first got to know each other, with Mary succinctly summing up what happened next.
“We started dating, fell in love, and started a family,” she says.
Russ, from Rapid City, South Dakota, did his undergraduate studies at the University of South Dakota and intended to go to medical school there before he learned about osteopathic medicine. In nearby Sturgis, South Dakota, he met ATSU-KCOM alumnus George Jenter, DO, ’72, who suggested he apply to the founding school of osteopathic medicine.
Russ applied to two schools. One never seemed to call him back. The other answered his call every time.
“I ended up talking to Lori Haxton,” he says. “Any time I called ATSU-KCOM, they answered, they talked to me and asked how they could help.”
Originally from Rolla, Missouri, Mary did her undergraduate studies at University of Missouri, where she shadowed DOs and MDs to help her determine a course.
“I really had been on the track of pursuing an allopathic degree. Once I shadowed, I was very, very impressed with the DO I followed,” she says. “After my interview at ATSU- KCOM, I felt as though that was the place I needed to be. I was so impressed with the physicians I interviewed with, the students I visited with, and it was such a positive experience.”
They completed their clinical rotations in Rolla and residency in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and returned to Kirksville in 2001, when both taught at ATSU-KCOM and practiced in the area. They’ve maintained the relationships established in northeast Missouri, and when their daughter, Madeline, was married in Texas, several former classmates and the family’s babysitter from Kirksville made the trip. One of their classmates even performed the ceremony.
The Kennedys ultimately ended up in Joplin, Missouri, where Russ and Mary practice family medicine. Two of their children – Madeline and Nick – seemed inclined to follow them in some way.
“Medicine is a huge part of who we’ve become as professionals and people. It’s a vocation. It’s part of who we are. Being able to practice and take care of families is really very rewarding,” Mary says. “I think our kids saw that growing up. They were raised throughout our training and in practice, and they spent a lot of time in clinic with us. I think it’s a natural progression.”
Natural, too, was a desire to extend the family’s legacy at ATSU.
“Madeline was always going to be a physician. It always seemed to be in her heart,” Russ says. “There was always an inclination to go to ATSU-KCOM. This is going to sound hokey or corny or whatever, but I’ve worked with a lot of allopathic students, and I’ve worked with a lot of osteopathic students from different schools, and I would hold our training up to anybody’s. Bring on Harvard. Bring on Stanford. I think you get a wonderful education at ATSU-KCOM. Madeline had always heard that, so I think that was always a place she anticipated she would apply to go to medical school.”
Madeline and her husband, Keaton Taber, are now third- year students at ATSU-KCOM. She attended the University of Kansas for her undergraduate studies and credits Dave Koenecke, DC, MEd, assistant vice president, admissions, for helping them along the way.
“He helped me bolster my application to be the best applicant I could be,” Madeline says. “He was so helpful, really making sure I was on track to be successful, and then we got our interviews, and we were able to come here to Kirksville.”
Nick followed his sister to Kirksville a year later, though not at ATSU-KCOM. His interests steered him toward ATSU’s Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH).
“When he told us he wanted to be a dentist, I could have fainted,” Mary says. “I would never have thought he would want to be a dentist, but I love it. He became so passionate about dental health, and I’m just so proud of him.”
Nick, too, did his undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas but tried a few different career paths after graduating. He worked in an emergency room and in construction before turning back toward health sciences, shadowing a dentist, and discovering his passion.
With that settled, and with so many ties to Kirksville already, ATSU-MOSDOH was a logical fit.
“There are a number of people who I call ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ who helped take care of me growing up. They’re not blood relatives but my parents’ friends from ATSU-KCOM. Pieces of the school have always been around me,” Nick says. “Lori Haxton, she’s a very special person, and I had talked to her quite a bit. She helped me get my application in order. Having that type of support and someone like that to talk to, people who advocated for the school, I felt being in Kirksville was advantageous.”
Madeline and Nick enjoy having a sibling nearby as they navigate the challenges of their respective programs. It’s not unusual for Nick to visit Madeline and Keaton for dinner, or for the couple to watch Nick’s puppy while he competes in intramural sports.
It’s not lost on either of them what Kirksville represents, not only in the present, but for their family’s entire story.
“ATSU-KCOM is the reason that I’m here in the first place, not just as a future physician, but even just as a person. This is where my parents met, fell in love, decided to start a family,” Madeline says. “And then, obviously, Nicholas, me, and my husband all going into healthcare and giving us a great education, just grateful.”
It’s a sentiment they share across generations.
“Kirksville really is just a special place,” Russ says. “It’s been critical in the structure and development of our family. It’s a comfortable place. You always feel welcome in Kirksville.”
THE LEWISES
Though Talmage Lewis, DO, ’98, didn’t have any physicians in his family, his osteopathic connection had been strong since before he was born.
“I grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and was delivered by a DO, Dr. Levitt,” he says. “He did everything back in the day when I was a kid. Delivered 14,000 babies, saw patients in the emergency room, did night calls, all of that stuff. I was impressed by him and he was a good example of an osteopathic physician.”
Talmage went to Arizona State University and, with his wife’s blessing, began taking pre-med courses with a goal to pursue a career in medicine. A high school friend – whose father was also a DO – had been accepted to ATSU-KCOM a few years earlier and had great things to say about Kirksville. Combined with having seen his family doctor’s impact in their community, Talmage decided to apply and was accepted at ATSU-KCOM.
“I had a great time there. Phenomenal teachers, educators, and great friends,” he says. “I remember failing a test one time and being able to go to meet with the professor and get tutoring. It ended up being one of my best subjects. The people out in Missouri cared for you and were there to help you succeed.”
He was able to complete his third- and fourth-year rotations in Phoenix and residency at Phoenix Baptist Hospital. His friend’s father was retiring around the same time, and Talmage joined their medical group, where he has been in family practice for the last 24 years.
His son, Wilson Lewis, a third-year osteopathic medical student, grew up with a close perspective on the life and career of a doctor and was immediately intrigued.
“Dad would take me to the office on Saturdays, and I loved going and playing in the rooms, playing doctor,” Wilson says. “My dad was a role model. Seeing him help other people, family and friends calling him for help, he was relied on to do that, and he was focused on helping others and caring for people. That envelops the whole osteopathic way of doing things.”
Wilson went to Arizona State University for his undergraduate degree and had his sights set on ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA), wanting to extend the family legacy at ATSU while also staying close to family, as he and his wife had a child on the way.
It didn’t seem like those plans would work out. He was waitlisted at ATSU-SOMA and had been accepted into Rocky Vista University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in Utah. Wilson and his wife were ready to move when, two months before school started, their daughter was born prematurely.
“She was a micro preemie at 25 weeks,” Wilson says. “Now what do we do? Our baby couldn’t leave the hospital, and once she got out, she would need extra help.”
Talmage contacted ATSU and told the admissions office about the situation. Soon after, a spot opened, and Wilson was offered a seat in ATSU-SOMA’s class of 2026.
More than two years later, his daughter is doing great, and so is Wilson.
“I’ve loved ATSU-SOMA. It’s been amazing. It’s definitely hard, but I knew coming into medical school that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. Having a dad who went through the process helped me somewhat in understanding it’s not going to be like any school you’ve done before. It’s a whole step above,” Wilson says.
And while not the same program he attended, Talmage knows the body, mind, spirit tenets of osteopathic medicine permeate all ATSU programs, providing a rich educational experience for his son and others, whether in Kirksville, Mesa, or Santa Maria, California.
“You hear about osteopathic principles from other schools, but it’s taught better than anybody at ATSU,” he says.
THE RAINEYS
Rhett Rainey, DO, ’79, grew up in St. Louis and developed an interest in sports medicine over time, but it wasn’t until his cousin, Debbie, married an ATSU-KCOM alumnus, George Thomas, DO, ’72, that he became interested in osteopathic medicine. Dr. Thomas was an influential figure in Rhett’s life, someone he credits with his decision and acceptance into medical school.
“To this day, I know he had his hand in helping me attend school in Kirksville,” Rhett says. “I had a fantastic experience at ATSU-KCOM and have been forever grateful for the opportunity to be educated there. It was an incredible place.”
Rhett attended ATSU-KCOM on the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) and, after graduation, completed his required year of transitional internship at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. He then was selected for an Army orthopedic surgical residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. Following his active duty service, he started private practice in Colorado, and remained in the U.S. Army Reserves to complete 22 years of service, including a call to active duty during Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Now in Gainesville, Georgia, Rhett has been practicing orthopedics for more than four decades. He currently is associate clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia and has mentored more than 75 third- and fourth-year medical students.
“I just can’t say enough good about ATSU,” he says. “It changed my life. It gave me this immense opportunity to become an orthopedic surgeon, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Rhett’s oldest daughter, Margo, said she was interested in healthcare from an early age, but her focus was on dentistry. She grew up in Gilbert, Arizona, with her mother, also a physician, and had her sights set on ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH).
“I wanted to go to the same school as my dad,” says Margo Rainey, DMD, ’12. “I just thought that would be really cool.”
It also wound up being the same campus chosen by her sister, Morgan Rainey, PA, ’11, who was accepted into ATSU-Arizona School of Health Sciences’ (ATSU-ASHS) Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program the following year.
“Our parents always told us we could be whatever we wanted to be,” Morgan says. “We all leaned toward medicine. We saw the impact our parents had, and the good they did for the community.”
Morgan wanted a career in health sciences but decided becoming a physician assistant would allow her the kind of flexibility she wanted with her future family. ATSU-ASHS had everything she wanted, from program of choice to family history.
“Living in Arizona, we had seen the campus, and knowing my father went to ATSU, it was a dream come true that there was a sister campus right down the road,” Morgan says. “It’s super fun to be part of a legacy like that.”
Margo and Morgan spoke glowingly about their educational experiences, saying ATSU-ASDOH and ATSU-ASHS, respectively, provided them opportunities and challenges, setting a foundation for exceptional futures as healthcare providers.
The Mesa, Arizona, campus also happened to be where each met their future husbands. Margo met Shane Clark, DMD, ’12, and the couple and their two children now reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Margo works in a private dental practice and Shane in endodontics.
Margo had also become friends with a classmate, Jenna Winokur, DMD, ’11, who had a brother, Dan Winokur, DMD, ’12, she thought would get along with her sister.
“They set us up on a blind date,” Morgan says. “Both of us met our husbands there at ATSU. It’s really fun to have a whole family connected to the same educational background.”
Morgan, Dan, and their daughter reside in Naples, Florida, where Morgan works in an urgent care center and Dan as an oral surgeon.
Rhett’s youngest daughter, Annika, graduated from the anesthesia assistant program at Nova Southeastern University in Tampa, Florida, and his son, Beau, believed he wanted to become a veterinarian.
Rhett encouraged his son to keep his options open and invited Beau to shadow him and his colleagues during the summer after his sophomore year.
“I did a complete 180,” says Beau Rainey, DO, ’23. “I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to walk around the hospital, meet all of these people from different backgrounds, and apply the science I’d loved so much. After that summer, I was dead set on medicine.”
Exactly 40 years after his father graduated from ATSU- KCOM, Beau received his white coat in Kirksville. Also like his father, Beau earned the HPSP. He matched into a transition year at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and then matched into the general surgery residency he began there in July. He lives in El Paso with his girlfriend, Gabrielle Menendez, DO, ’23, an ATSU-KCOM alumna who is an emergency medicine resident at Texas Tech University Medical Center.
The Rainey family’s commitment to ATSU is ongoing, in the form of the Rainey Family General Operations Endowment gift, and possibly future generations of health sciences students.
“I would love it if my daughter (named Rainey) wanted to choose a career in healthcare and ended up at ATSU,” Morgan says. “It would be fantastic to continue the legacy on and on to another generation.”
After what the family has already accomplished, and with the University continuing to grow to meet the nation’s evolving healthcare needs, it’s not difficult to imagine that kind of outcome.
“It’s kind of incredible how we all managed to attend all of these different programs at ATSU,” Beau says. “That’s a really neat thing about the University. Each one of us graduated from a different program, but we all found our niche. It is really special that we share that bond and ATSU is this unifying factor.”