William Edgar Carlisle, MD

A Memorial Service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, July 20, 2023 at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Michael Bailey officiating. The family will receive friends following the service.

Dr. Carlisle was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Jackson Carlisle.

He is survived by his daughter, Sara Martin (Bob); son, Greg Carlisle; and grandchildren, Robert Martin, PE of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dr. Melissa Carlisle Golden (Adam) of Prattville, Ala., and Charlotte Elizabeth Carlisle, RN of Gadsden, Ala.

A distinguished physician and lifelong Southerner, Bill Carlisle was known for his love of family as well as his devotion to generations of patients and professional colleagues. His reputation as an outdoorsman of impeccable skill and integrity marks his legacy.

Born December 8, 1927, in Montgomery, he was the proud son of Edgar and Hattie Carlisle. His father sold automobiles for the Paterson and Engels Studebaker dealership there until 1931, when the family relocated to Samson and the senior Carlisle ran the Ford agency. Samson was a familiar community for the family, where Edgar and Hattie had married in 1923. It was home to Bill’s uncle, the pioneering physician Dr. Marion Kirklin and his spouse Alma. The Kirklins later relocated to Troy.

In 1933 the Carlisles moved to Geneva, where Sampson Motor Company bought a car dealership and Edgar was named manager, purchasing the firm the following year. Upon Bill’s grandfather’s death, Hattie’s mother, affectionately known as Granny Watson, sold their family farm in Enterprise to provide financial resources for her seven children to earn a secondary education. She primarily lived with Bill’s mother, but also spent time with any of her children who needed her help (Lena, Avery, Minnie, James, Albert, Hattie and Alma).

In the early 1940’s, Bill’s father sold the Samson dealership and the family relocated to Pensacola, where Bill graduated from high school in 1946. Drum Major in the band, he made treasured lifelong friendships. An accomplished scholar, he was accepted to Vanderbilt University and Tulane University. Accepting a Tulane scholarship, he lived with his father’s sister Barbara and worked in the Dean’s and President’s Offices, also spending a year with the Green Wave band.

Tragedy struck the Carlisle family on Easter morning of 1948, when their patriarch Edgar died of heart disease in Pensacola. With dual enrollment in the undergraduate and medical schools at Tulane, it was in New Orleans that Bill met the love of his life, Mary Jackson, an elegant and accomplished student at Sophie Newcomb College. They were married in June 1951, celebrating with a reception at the Pontchartrain Hotel. The newlyweds lived in an upstairs apartment in her parents’ home in the Garden District.

After graduating from medical school in 1953, Bill held a one-year internship at Charity Hospital, where he saw the Crescent City from every perspective. His children and grandchildren loved hearing his tales of violence, bloodshed and lifesaving procedures that would help shape his lifelong passion for medicine and the healing arts. From 1954-56 Bill served 14 months active duty at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington D.C., where he and Mary enjoyed the cultural amenities of the nation’s capital. It was during this time that Bill made the decision to pursue the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Returning to New Orleans in 1956, Bill did his OBGYN residency at Ochsner Clinic and Foundation Hospital under Dr. John Weed, who became Bill’s lifelong mentor. Bill and Mary welcomed their two children in the late 1950’s. Greg was born in 1957 and Sara in 1959. The family relocated to Montgomery after Sara’s birth, then it was on to Tuscaloosa, which became the Carlisle family’s permanent home. Their first address was 8 Buena Vista before Bill and Mary built their dream house in the High Forest neighborhood.

Bill joined Dr. David Partlow Sr. in his OBGYN practice. Over the next 35 years Bill practiced Obstetrics and Genecology with David Partlow, Sr., Dr. Bill Standifer, Dr. Louis Payne, Dr. Edgar Daly and briefly with Dr. David Partlow, Jr., who subsequently opened his own practice. Bill delivered thousands of babies at Druid City Hospital, where he served on numerous hospital committees.

Over sixty-plus years in Tuscaloosa, Bill Carlisle made countless friends. In addition to DCH staff and administration, he cherished his time with fellow congregants at First Presbyterian Church and Sunday School, the Millwood Hunting Club, Fifty Frolicsome Fools Mardi Gras Club and Les Amis du Vin. He and his beloved Mary loved attending Saturday performances at the Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery and supporting the arts on the local and state levels.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays, Bill was a regular on the golf course at Indian Hills Country Club.

Over the last five years since Mary’s death, Bill was drawn to Ridge Farms in Greene County where life moved at a relaxing pace and he enjoyed family along with friends young and old. He felt especially close to God there as he was surrounded by His beautiful creations in the great outdoors.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, Hospice of West Alabama, Tuscaloosa Pastors Network, or a charity of one’s choice.