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The family lived in a small home at 1737 Garland Avenue in the West End of Louisville . His earliest stated memory of family life was accompanying his mother when she returned library books to the Parkland library . He would help her pull the cart back home , filled with newly borrowed books . He was 4 years old . The children grew up during the Depression and as they got a little older , he and Logan would work at whatever jobs were available . They needed to help out their father , who was without work for several years prior to 1941 . “ Henley ’ s saloon at 17 th and Garland was the place where out-of-work men hung out in mutual desperation and support . A pitcher of beer cost a dime with a hard-boiled egg to come with it .” When it was dinner time at the Jones house , David or Logan would run down to Henley ’ s to let their dad know .
David ’ s formal education led him to Male High School . He graduated in 1949 and after a period of uncertainty ( there was no money for college ) and odd-jobbing ( there was plenty ), he won a Navy ROTC scholarship to the University of Louisville . It was at UofL that he met Betty Ashbury who would become his partner in life . After graduating from UofL in the spring of 1954 , he was commissioned into the Navy . On July 24 th of that year David and Betty were married at the Crescent Hill Baptist Church , on a 48-hour pass from his base in Athens , Georgia . The morning after the wedding , he and his new bride drove back to Athens and set up home . Betty , who had also graduated ( early ) from UofL that year , enrolled the following day at the University of Georgia : just the third day of a partnership that would grow and strengthen through the years .
David had a degree in accounting from the University of Louisville . He put this to good use during his three years in the Navy . Following his discharge in 1957 , he was accepted to Yale Law School . Yale offered affordable housing for veterans , and he took a teaching position in accounting at the nearby Quinnipiac College to supplement his GI Bill stipend . In the fall of 1957 , Mr . and Mrs . Jones moved to New Haven . Their new home was half a metal Quonset hut . They were expecting their first baby and a second child would be born before the three years were over . Life was busy in New Haven . Most of their neighbors were veterans , newly married or with young families . They shared life stories , supported each other and ( most importantly ) developed a noncash babysitting barter system . It was a time for new friendships and contacts that would continue well into the future .
Following their return to Louisville , David joined the law firm of Wyatt , Grafton and Sloss . Wendell Cherry had been working there for six months . At 26 years old , he was one of the youngest employees of the firm and he and David teamed up immediately . Each of them realized very quickly that the practice of law was not what either of them wanted long term . Luck was on their side and provided them with an opportunity that would launch them into the health care / business world .
In 1958 , the Reynolds Metal Company left Louisville . In 1961 , shortly after David joined the law firm , he was working with his mentor Bob Sloss on the closing of the sale of the home of Billy Reynolds , CEO of Reynolds Metal . The purchaser of the home was another young Louisville lawyer who had been two years ahead of David at Male High School . Knowing that all young lawyers in Louisville at the time were earning a pittance , David was intrigued : how could the fellow afford what was a very pricey purchase ?
The answer was simple and direct . “ Dave , I built a nursing home last year .” The Jones-Cherry partnership had already tried two small property-related business ventures in and around Louisville , but nothing that had long-term potential . After hearing his client ’ s comment , David walked over to Wendell Cherry ’ s office and opened with the suggestion , “ Let ’ s build a nursing home .” The reply was succinct , “ Why not .”
In 1961 , five years before the passage of Medicare and Medicaid , there were apparently very few dedicated , regulated nursing homes in the country . The Jones family had already had very negative experiences with makeshift care facilities . David ’ s grandmother in the final year of her life had been taken to a facility on South Third Street , described then as an old three-story house staffed by well-intentioned , kindly people with no resources . Residents were tied to chairs for their own safety . Betty ’ s grandmother in Portsmouth , Virginia was in a similar situation . Wendell , too , had a grandmother whose last months were spent in distressing circumstances .
Motivation and opportunity were clearly colliding but the means had to be found . The story is legendary . David Jones and Wendell Cherry each borrowed $ 1,000 . The Jones networking machine roared into life and four additional partners were soon recruited . They were all well-known in the local business community : Sonny Bass , Charlie Weisberg , Bill Rommel and Jim McFerran . They each contributed $ 1,000 and the company was incorporated on Aug . 18 , 1961 . The company name Wendav caused me to chuckle - spur of the moment , perhaps , or indicative of the driving forces that would ultimately lead to Humana . Further networking found banking lenders , other suppliers and a piece of property at 2000 Liverpool Lane , just off Bardstown Road . Their first nursing home opened on Aug . 10 , 1962 , with 78 beds . Its name was Heritage House .
The subsequent chapters on nursing home success , transition to Humana and its hospitals to the split between hospitals and insurance , are full of minute detail , not just about the business deals , financing , national and international acquisitions and the Humana-sponsored artificial heart program ( William Schroeder was the recipient , Nov . 25 , 1984 ), but the employees and other individuals involved . Each one has a cameo appearance . These include not just their roles , but their background and family
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