Dr. John M. Patterson

A true Southern gentleman, Dr. Patterson was a loving father and grandfather and a devoted husband to his wife Maxine, who died in 2010. Named Mississippi’s Family Physician of the year in 1992, Dr. Patterson practiced medicine in Pontotoc for 48 years, retiring in 2003 at the age of 77.

Dr. Patterson began practicing medicine at time when it wasn’t unusual for patients to have the same physician from birth to death. He made house calls, set broken bones, performed appendectomies, and delivered babies at all hours of the night. And very often, he played the role of trusted confidant as much as medical professional. His patients could count on him to be there for a medical emergency, a personal crisis, and even a little help in the kitchen. Once on a house call, he recommended chicken soup for a patient, and she handed him a rifle and sent him outside to shoot a chicken for her.

Born in the Evergreen community of Itawamba County on Dec. 16, 1925, Dr. Patterson was the son of John Lee and Melva Black Patterson. He graduated from Itawamba Agricultural High School in 1944 and served in the U.S. Navy before attending college on the G.I. Bill. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1948 and attended the then two-year University of Mississippi Medical School. He married Maxine McDaniel on Aug. 24, 1952, and they moved to Philadelphia where he completed his education at Jefferson Medical College. After graduating from Jefferson in 1954, Dr. Patterson completed an internship at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis.

Dr. and Mrs. Patterson moved to Pontotoc in 1955, and he practiced medicine in the same office on Washington Street for his entire career. He said many times that he enjoyed the last day of practicing medicine as much as the first.

Within weeks of Mrs. Patterson’s death in 2010, Dr. Patterson was diagnosed with lymphoma. After chemotherapy weakened his immune system in 2010, he gradually learned to receive care from others as graciously as he had given it for so many years.

Dr. Patterson set high standards for himself and for others, yet was forgiving and understanding. He served in numerous leadership positions professionally and at Pontotoc First United Methodist Church. He served as chief of staff at Pontotoc Community Hospital and was a member of the courtesy staff of North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He was on the board of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, district director of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, and president of the Family Health Foundation of Mississippi. Dr. Patterson had a brief career in the theater, playing the role of the doctor in the final scene of Arsenic and Old Lace at Pontotoc Community Theater in 2008.

He is survived by his sister Dot Schumpert of Nettleton, daughters Claire McGee (Bob) of Watkinsville, Ga., Mary Lise Parsons (Mike) of Dothan, Ala., and Patti Smith (Ritchie) of Memphis; and grandchildren, Alyson McGee Gembala (Ryan) of San Francisco, Robert McGee of Birmingham; Raynor Clifton and Brennan Clifton, both of Montgomery; and Rena Parsons, John Michael Parsons, and Anna Parsons, all of Dothan, Ala.

He was preceded in death by sister, Helon Boozer.

A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Pontotoc First United Methodist Church. Visitation will be 1-4 p.m. Saturday at Browning Funeral Home in Pontotoc, and 3-7 p.m. Sunday at the Pontotoc Community House. Browning Funeral Home in Pontotoc is in charge of the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the building fund of the Pontotoc First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 308, Pontotoc, MS 38863 or other charitable organization.