The St. Louis community lost a giant on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 with the passing of Dr. James Whittico Jr. He was 102.
A colleague once joked that, “Dr. Whittico delivered Jesus.” At the time he had nearly 60 years of experience in the St. Louis region as a pioneering healthcare provider. When he retired at the ripe age of 99, he had been serving St. Louis through his ministry of medicine for 65 years.
“He has an aristocracy of the mind without losing the common touch of the people,” Dr. Whittico’s former pastor, Rev. Robert C. Scott, said of him. Scott’s remarks came as Central Baptist, Dr. Whittico’s home church since 1948, named its health room in honor of the legendary physician and surgeon’s 97th birthday.
Rev. Scott will deliver Dr. Whittico’s eulogy at his homegoing, which will be held 10 a.m. Friday, September 7 at Central Baptist Church, 2841 Washington Ave. in St. Louis.
From 1952-2015, Dr. Whittico was in the private practice of medicine, specializing in surgery. He was also a medical school faculty member for most of his career. Dr. Whittico was the fourth African American in St. Louis to be named a fellow for the American College of Surgeons and the first African American named a full clinical professor at any medical school in St. Louis.
“The way Dr. Whittico practiced medicine and the way he treated people was an extraordinary gift that he possessed,” said Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson, associate professor of Family and Community Medicine at Saint Louis University and Health and Accuracy editor for The St. Louis American.
“He exemplified a level of professionalism that is often lacking in today’s health system. Simply put, Dr. James M. Whittico Jr., has lived a phenomenal life dedicated to others.”
Medicine was the family business
Dr. James Whittico Jr. was born in Williamson, West Virginia on November 18, 1915. He followed the career path of his father, Dr. James Whittico Sr. A prominent member of the community in Williamson, the elder Dr. Whittico was the only African-American physician in town.
“I got my flair for taking care of people from my father,” Dr. Whittico told The American as he prepared to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2006 Salute to Excellence in Healthcare. “He was dedicated to his job as a physician at a time when people had nothing. I saw him get paid with chickens or a head of cabbage.”
Dr. Whittico’s father practiced medicine during the height of the Great Depression – which was still underway when the son entered Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, the nation’s oldest historically black university. At age 19, he entered Meharry Medical College, a historically black medical school in Nashville.
During his last year at Meharry, Dr. Whittico decided that surgery was the best route for him in the medical field. His mentors at Meharry – including Dr. John H. Hale, Dr. Matthew Walker and Dr. “Pops” Tolliver – also influenced his decision to become a surgeon.
When Dr. Whittico graduated from medical school in 1940, there were very few hospitals in the country that offered training for doctors of color. St. Louis’ Homer G. Phillips Hospital was the largest of these and, according to Dr. Whittico, a mecca for black doctors.
“What a wonderful place to learn,” Dr. Whittico said of Homer G. Phillips. “The best doctors and nurses in the world taught doctors and nurses to become the best in the world.”
He volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1942 and had the honor of being the first black doctor from Missouri to become a military hospital chief surgeon. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and later was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for combat service during World War II.
It was relationships forged at Homer G. Phillips and the National Medical Association that led to the development of the Mound City Medical Center, Inc.
“It was the first black multidisciplinary practice in St. Louis,” Dr. Whittico said, “and because we were black, we couldn’t borrow the money to purchase the office space in St. Louis.” The doctors were forced to travel to Kentucky to obtain a loan to acquire the space in North St. Louis – where Dr. Whittico served patients into his 90s.
Dr. Whittico was a president emeritus of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Medical Association (NMA), called the Mound City Medical Forum, co-chairman of Mayor Alphonse Cervantes’ successful convention center bond issue campaign, and a member of Mayor Jim Conway’s four-man blue-ribbon committee on the future of public medicine in St. Louis.
Dr. Whittico received four presidential Certificates of Achievement between 1940-46 from U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt (as a selective service physician) and Harry S. Truman (for his service during World War II). He received two certificates from each president. In 1967, he dined with President Lyndon B. Johnson during a state dinner at the White House.
In 1968, he invited President Johnson to address the NMA convention in Dallas, and Johnson agreed. Because of Dr. Whittico, a sitting president addressed a medical conference – which happened to be a medical conference for an association of medical professionals of color – for the first time in the history of any medical association.
Dr. Whittico also was appointed by President Richard M. Nixon to become a member of the National Council of the Education of Health Professionals.
After 65 years of service, Dr. Whittico retired from medicine in 2015 and was honored with a special banquet to celebrate his 100th birthday and his achievements and contributions to the field of medicine – both locally and nationally. Greetings, proclamations and supporting well-wishes were sent by the NMA, Meharry College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, various community organizations, his church, his brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., and elected officials.
“This gentle giant may have retired, but his life’s work will never stop,” said U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, one of Dr. Whittico’s countless former patients. “We love you, we respect you and we deeply appreciate all you have done for us over the years.”
Now, as Dr. Hooks-Anderson said, “The medical field has lost a giant whose shoes cannot be filled.”
Dr. Whittico is survived by his children, Jarrhet Whittico and Joi Whittico. Gloria Thompson Whittico, his wife of 66 years, preceded him in death.
A visitation for Dr. Whittico will be held 3 p.m. Thursday, September 6 at Austin A. Layne, Renaissance Chapel, 7302 W. Florissant Ave. Tributes from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and others start at 6 p.m. After his funeral at Central Baptist Church at 10 a.m. Friday, September 7, interment will follow at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
