George Madison Sturgis M.D.

1932 - 2020

George Madison Sturgis, M.D., 88, of Jackson, Mississippi passed away on Friday morning September 4, 2020, after a three-month battle with multiple myeloma. Dr. Sturgis was a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was born on April 15, 1932. Dr. Sturgis graduated from Baton Rouge High School. He graduated from Texas A&M University and subsequently graduated from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. After completing a residency in pathology at Charity Hospital and Tulane University, he served as a pathologist in the Navy for two years at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. In 1965, he and his wife, Yvette, moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he founded clinical pathology with Dr. Roland Samson at the newly established Hinds General Hospital. Shortly thereafter, Drs. Sturgis and Samson established an independent private clinical laboratory, Sturgis and Samson Pathology Laboratory, which shortly thereafter became Sturgis, Samson, and Henderson Pathology Laboratory, with the addition of Dr. Julian Henderson. The laboratory became known later as Clinical Pathology Laboratory, Inc., which provided outpatient laboratory and pathology services for medical practices across the state. Dr. Sturgis practiced pathology for more than 45 years working at and/or being a part of the founding staff of many Jackson area hospitals including Hinds General Hospital (now known as Merit Health Central), Doctors Hospital (now a part of St. Dominic Hospital), Women's Hospital, Rankin Hospital, Mississippi Rehabilitation Center, and River Oaks Hospital. He retired from clinical practice when he was 78 years old. He was a friend and mentor to many in the medical community and respected for his knowledge, his clarity, his advice, but also his mischievous humor. Earlier in his life, Dr. Sturgis was an avid sailor having fond memories of teaching sailing at summer camp in Wisconsin, sailing at Cape Cod when visiting family friends, and in Pensacola sailing with his wife from their home on Perdido Bay. After moving to Jackson, Ross Barnett Reservoir did not have favorable winds, and he became a passionate saltwater fisherman both alone and with close friends and family spending time on the Gulf from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. He also became an avid tennis player, and he and his family were members for many years at River Hills Club. He dedicated much of his time to the promotion and support of his wife Yvette's career in fine art. He spent many hours landscaping his yard and growing from scratch all variety of flora, a pastime he enjoyed immensely. He was a keen investor, broad reader and book collector, and fiscally conservative and libertarian thinker. Dr. Sturgis will be missed dearly by his wife of 60 years, Yvette Nell Sturgis of Panama; his son, Dr. Erich Madison Sturgis (Shannan) of Houston; his daughter Sandra Sturgis Giddens (John) of Jackson; and his grandchildren, Dahlia Isabella Sturgis, Malcolm Madison Sturgis, and Nicholas Patrick Sturgis and George Sturgis Giddens, Ava Yvette Giddens, and Alexander Sturgis Giddens. He was preceded in death by his parents, Madison B. Sturgis, Ph.D. and Adah Proctor Sturgis; sisters, Jeanne Elizabeth Sturgis and Frances Ellen Sturgis McQuaid; and a brother, James Dorsey Sturgis. The family wishes to thank the physicians and staff at St. Dominic Hospital intensive care unit as well as the physicians, nurses, and staff who have cared for him over the years. The family will hold a small private ceremony at a later date, but condolences may be shared at www.wrightferguson.com. Memorials may be made to LSU School of Medicine.