Dr. S. Fulton Tompkins, M.D.

Souther Fulton Tompkins, M.D. died peacefully at his home on Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 after an extended illness. The son of Edmund Pendleton Tompkins, M.D. and Sarah Souther Tompkins, he was born on February 10, 1916 in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1925 the family moved to Lexington, Virginia, home of Washington and Lee University. Fulton graduated from Lexington High School in 1933 and from W&L in 1937, summa cum laude with a degree in chemistry. He received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1942. He interned at the University of Pennsylvania following which he entered into a general surgery residency at the Mayo Clinic. In July 1945 he joined the Navy, in which he served for 11 months. During his brief military career he developed a keen interest in orthopaedic surgery. In 1946 he returned to the Mayo Clinic as an orthopaedic resident. In 1950, after finishing his training, Fulton joined Don O’Donoghue, M.D. in the practice of orthopaedic surgery in Oklahoma City. Both of them were active in private practice as well as in the training of the University of Oklahoma orthopaedic residents. Fulton developed a subspecialty interest in treating scoliosis, curvature of the spine. In 1952 Fulton married Ruth-Ellen Paul at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. Over the next seven years they had four children, Paul, Sarah, John, and Edie. In 1962 Fulton went into solo practice at Baptist Medical Center where he continued to work with the OU orthopaedic residents as a Clinical Professor. In 1987 he was joined in practice by his son John and they practiced together until 1998 when Fulton retired. He co-authored with John the book “An Ounce of Prevention: The Truth About Our Health” soon to be published. He was a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Southern Medical Society, the Clinical Orthopaedic Society, as well as on the board of the Men’s Dinner Club. In addition he was a long standing member of Westminster Presbyterian Church where he had been an elder and active participant for more than 60 years. Fulton considered life a grand adventure that he lived to the fullest. His loving survivors include his four children, six grandchildren Sallie, Sophia and Spencer Sangiorgio, Michael and Pendelton Tompkins, and Christina Sample. Extended family also includes his daughters-in-law Debbie Tompkins and Michelle Tompkins, his son-in-law Richard Sangiorgio, his nieces and nephews Tain Tompkins, Ned Tompkins and Alice Tompkins and Pam Dixon, as well as Mary Sample and Frankie Quinn. The family will be receiving friends during the visitation on Sunday, October 24, 2010 from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Visitation will also be held on Monday and Tuesday, October 25th and 26th from 8:00 am until 9:00 pm on both days. There will be a memorial service for him on Saturday, November 20th at 1:00 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church or Ross Home Health and Hospice Care in his memory.