Dr. John C. Tomlinson

1926 - 2019

Dr. John C. Tomlinson

Dr. John C. Tomlinson passed away peacefully on August 14, 2019, in Atlanta, GA. John Coleman Tomlinson was born November 20, 1926 and lived most of his childhood in the Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast of Mississippi. After high school in Gulfport, MS he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as an Instructor at the Naval Air Technical Training Center-Ward Island at Corpus Christi, Texas during WWII. After the war he attended Mississippi State University and received his M.D. from Tulane University. He married Virginia Parsons while in medical school in 1950, after which he opened a family practice in Carrollton, MS and later was the company doctor for Delta & Pine Land Company in Scott, MS. He developed a special bond with this community that remained for the rest of his life. It was here where patients and friends began calling him Dr. John. He completed a cardiology fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI in 1969 and joined Cardiovascular Associates of Louisville, KY. John was a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the Council on Clinical Cardiology. He served on the Kentucky Governor's Advisory Committee for the American College of Physicians and was President of Medical Staff at St. Anthony Hospital.

In retirement, Dr. John wrote short stories about his early days as a country doctor and he learned pottery. In Louisville he was a member of the Crescent Hill Writers Group and he later founded the Lenbrook Writing Group at his retirement community in Atlanta. He and Virginia traveled extensively. They especially enjoyed Europe and China and sailing in the British Virgin Islands.

Dr. John moved to Atlanta after his beloved Virginia died in 2007, where his two sons and grandchildren live. He is survived by his children, John Tomlinson Jr. (Nan), Ginger Kaldenbach (Tom), Scott Tomlinson (Marty), and Susan Lippert (Wendell). He was the grandfather of Martha Scott Tomlinson, Sarah Frances Tomlinson, and Spencer Tomlinson. In addition, he leaves behind a brother, Charles Tomlinson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Luberta Tomlinson, brother Glenn Tomlinson, and his loving wife, Virginia.

Dr. John's family will remember his passion for cardiology, his care for his patients, and his sharp, inquisitive, mind. A celebration of Dr. John's life will be held in Atlanta on March 28th, 2020. Donations in honor of Dr. John C. Tomlinson may be made to: Louisville Story Program, https://louisvillestoryprogram.org/donate, 851 S. 4th St., Louisville, KY 40203; Have a Heart Clinic, https://www.haveaheartclinic.org/donate, 310 E Broadway, Suite 100, Louisville, KY 40202.