David Huffman Obituary

Huffman
Dr. David Hanson
Huffman
February 8, 1941
September 14, 2025

Remembering Dr. David Huffman, 1941-2025
David Hanson Huffman was born February 8, 1941, in Dodge City, Kansas. He died surrounded by love on September 14, 2025, at Memorial Central in Colorado Springs. David and his kid brother, Donny, grew up in prairie towns where he joked, "The land was so flat you could watch your dog run away for three days." His family later moved to Hays, where his parents bought a home on a charming, oak-lined brick street. His mother, Frances Hanson, was a third-grade teacher, and his father, Ralph "Red" Huffman, was a football coach at Fort Hays State.
David and his kid brother were best friends. "We were amateur explorers and fishing buddies." On that brick street, David had a pack of friends that were a classic portrait of their time: rolled-up jeans, stickball, and forbidden fishing holes. David always said there was something magical about growing up on that street.
Football became David's passion as a teenager. He was accepted to the University of Kansas in 1959 and played freshman year. David said it "was a golden time," filled with football, jukeboxes, and meals at a crowded, chrome-plated diner. But soon, there was tragic news and David was called home.
His younger brother, Donny, had contracted meningitis. There was no cure. Doctors knew what it was, but they didn't know how to stop it. David stayed by his brother's side as Donny died slowly, his final days struggling in an iron lung. David was shattered. Confused and quiet, he returned to KU, but everything had changed. "Even the buildings looked different." Consumed with a new idea, David now wanted to understand disease and join the ranks of those trying to save lives. He transferred to pre-med.
Years later, David attended the KU School of Medicine, where he excelled at diagnostics. He interned for the NIH, notably collecting data for Harry Harlow's continuing research on separation and dependency, famously known as the 'wire mother' experiments. After graduating in 1967, David was awarded an internship and residency at the prestigious Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, where he also served as a lieutenant in the Public Health Service. He followed with a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute from '69 to '71. While there, David discovered a new passion: he wanted to crack the behavior of cancer cells.

During these years, David met and married Lois Potter, and they had two children, Sara and Matthew. He returned to KU, this time to teach at the KU Medical Center from 1971-1978. Overlapping, he also served as Chief of Medicine at the Kansas City VA Hospital. But another tragedy struck… his father died. David returned home to bury his father and console his mother.
Weeks later, driving through the Kansas night, David pulled over to watch the sunrise and "was filled with vivid, wonderful memories of my brother." He resolved to leave academic medicine and return to clinical work to fight disease head-on. David moved his family west, drawn to Colorado Springs, a place that "felt like home on the first day."
Over the years, David had anxiously followed the development of a meningitis vaccine. When the first vaccines were created, he opened a 100-year-old bottle of Scotch to celebrate. In the 1990s when an official report cited the vaccine that had reduced meningitis death by over 99%, he drove to his brother's grave to share the news.

David established a practice in internal medicine and oncology. In the early 80s, he and his wife moved into a monstrous old home near Seven Falls, a relic perched on a hill overlooking Cheyenne Road. They fostered numerous children, eventually adopting five: Lynn, Jessica, Michael, Maggy, and Jessie. While David worked to save lives from cancer, he also felt compelled to care for patients at the end of their lives, so he volunteered at the founding of Pikes Peak Hospice.
In 1987, David co-founded Pikes Peak Cancer Specialists with Robert Sayre, MD,Charles Zinn, MD, and David Martz, MD. It was a dream team. Their collaborative approach resulted in high-quality, empathetic care. Their partnership eventually became Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, which continues to leave a legacy of healing in the Pikes Peak region.

After a tough divorce, David found hope again when he met Carol Markowski, who was "The love of my life." They married in a castle in Manitou, and David warmly embraced her children, Laura and Mike.
David was so proud of his granddaughters, Channing and Scarlett. As they grew, he created displays, filling shelves with their photos, artwork, and awards. David loved the outdoors and he loved golf, even though he knew it was a cliché for a doctor to play. He would laugh, "I know, I know, but it's a great game!" He savored the long walks and friendships that evolved around the sport. After retiring in 2001, David realized he had more healing to give, so he volunteered as an oncologist at Peak Vista Community Health Centers for many years. He also became involved in the Colorado Springs Medical-Legal Ethics Club, advocating to bring treatment and medical advancements to Colorado's rural communities.
A colleague of his once wrote, "David Huffman was an outstanding physician and oncologist. He brought a blend of medical excellence, hard work, a sense of humor, compassion and pragmatism to his patients."
David was a life dedicated to healing, and he was troubled by the modern wave of cynicism against science. He noted, "When you save people's lives, sometimes they forget." As an oncologist on the front lines, he was in awe of medical progress, and he was excited for the future. He prayed that people would trust in science. He was inspired that a disease like meningitis, once fatal, was now curable. It gave him hope to see how far medicine had come. He couldn't wait to see his kid brother again and tell him all about it.
Please let his life be an antidote. If your heart is feeling cynical these days, remember his story — a guy who rose from tragedy to save lives. Let his humor and unwavering hope be a guide.

At his request, there will be no service. In lieu of gifts, please send a donation in his name to Pikes Peak Hospice, 2550 Tenderfoot Hill Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 or online at www.pikespeakhospice.org.