David R. Banks, Campaign Leader, Dies at 76

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David Banks

David R. Banks of Fayetteville, a leading volunteer during the Campaign for the 21^st Century at the University of Arkansas, died Sunday, Dec. 29, in San Diego. Banks was a graduate of the University of Arkansas and retired chairman of the board of directors of Beverly Enterprises Inc., one of the nation’s largest nursing home corporations. He was 76 years old.

Banks served on the campaign committee from July 1998 to June 2005 and was chair of the campaign for the College of Education and Health Professions. He was also a member of the current Campaign Arkansas Steering Committee. He endowed two scholarships in the College of Education and Health Professions, and he also served on the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council from October 2007 to July 2010.

“David was a team player, a leader and a source of inspiration to fellow benefactors in this college and throughout the University of Arkansas and the region,” said Tom Smith, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. “He will be greatly missed.”

A memorial service celebrating Banks’ life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 at the Fayetteville High School Performing Arts Center, 994 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Fayetteville. Moore’s Chapel in Fayetteville is in charge of arrangements.

Banks was preceded in death by his parents and brother, John Gordon Banks. He is survived by his wife, Rosamond Sample Brown Banks; two daughters, Melissa Gay Banks of Fayetteville; Billie Sunday Banks of Scottsdale, Ariz.; one son, John Michael Banks and his wife, Jamie, of Fayetteville; four grandchildren, Georgie Banks, Olivia Banks, Mary Helen Banks and David Banks II; two stepsons, Stewart Brown of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Garrett Brown of North Little Rock, Ark.

Memorial contributions may be made to the David Banks Nursing Scholarship c/o University of Arkansas, 214 Graduate Education Bldg., Fayetteville, AR 72701.