Members of the Meylor family, all Davenport Campus graduates, welcome
Molly Meylor, fifth from left, as their latest Palmer chiropractor during the
October 2006 Davenport Campus convocation. From left, Jade Meylor, D.C.,
’04, Cliff Meylor, D.C., ’77, Davenport Campus President Dr. Kern, Dean
Meylor, D.C., ’74, Molly, Wayne Meylor, ’79, and Lee Meylor, ’83. |
Author Alex Haley once said, “Family is the link to
our past (and the) bridge to our future.” For the
Meylors, family and chiropractic are the links to their
past and future.
“In our immediate family, we have 25 Doctors of
Chiropractic,” said Dean Meylor, D.C., Davenport
’74, of Greensboro, N.C. “With extended family
members—through marriages and such—we number
close to 40.” Last year alone, the Meylor family
had eight students working toward chiropractic
degrees, so the legacy continues.
“We’re all Palmer graduates,” Dr. Meylor said. “Two of
us graduated from Palmer’s West Campus, while the
rest of us graduated from Palmer in Davenport.”
It all started with R.J. “Jay” Meylor, D.C., Dean’s uncle from
LeMars, Iowa, who graduated from Palmer in 1958. He started a
trend that would continue for nearly 50 years. So far.
To a young Dr. Dean Meylor, chiropractic was an important part
of growing up. “Any time we went out with my Uncle Jay, I can’t
recall a time when people didn’t come over and pat him on the
back,” he said. “It was really something to see him have the
respect of his peers in the community. Every time we went out
to eat at a restaurant, someone would approach my uncle and
pat him on the back or otherwise acknowledge the help he had
given him through chiropractic.”
It wasn’t until he came to Palmer that he learned not everyone
held chiropractors in such high esteem. In 1976 LeMars,
Iowa, where Dr. R.J. Meylor and his brother Dr. Don Meylor
practiced, there were more chiropractors than medical doctors
in practice.
“Most of our family are from small towns in northwest Iowa,
such as LeMars, Cherokee, Storm Lake and Sioux City,” he
said. “It’s the little bitty towns with chiropractors that can
make a big difference. For example, my brother Wayne
(Davenport ’79) was recognized in 2004 as having referred the
most students to Palmer.”
Incidentally, Dr. Dean Meylor’s daughter, Jessica Meylor-
Benningfield, D.C., Davenport ’05, also married into a
chiropractic family. Her father-in-law, Robert Benningfield,
D.C., Davenport ’75, of Peoria, Ill., was the top referral
doctor for 2005.
Why are there so many chiropractors in the Meylor family
and beyond? “I think chiropractors are good role models.
When I was growing up, the ones I knew had sterling
reputations and helped a lot of people,” said Dr. Dean Meylor.
“My three brothers and I followed in our uncle’s footsteps
and became chiropractors. My daughter just graduated last
year, and my son, Adam, is currently a student at the
Davenport Campus.
“My dad’s two brothers and sister went to Palmer, too,”
he continued. “Then add in the nieces and nephews and
cousins … and those chiropractic family members through
marriage. For three generations, we’ve been involved in
chiropractic. It’s a way of life for us.”