Dr. William "Bill" Patrick McCluskey

Bill was born January 11, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Ted and Charlotte McCluskey. He was the third of five children.

Upon graduating from Central High School in Philadelphia at the age of 17, he was simultaneously accepted into both the University of Pennsylvania undergraduate program and medical school.

Following his graduation from the Perelman School of Medicine in 1981, Bill completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a specialization in pediatric orthopedics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ("CHOP"), and a fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Nemours Children's Clinic in Wilmington, Delaware. He completed a second fellowship in pediatric hand surgery after marrying his wife, Jill-Allyn.

Bill met Jill-Allyn at the Hospital of University of Philadelphia, where he was an intern, and reconnected at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

They married in 1986 and Bill began his career helping children in Jacksonville, Florida.

In 1994, Bill relocated his family to Mississippi to work as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at The University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Blair E. Batson Children's of Mississippi Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.

For the next 24 years, Bill was known and recognized for his success in preserving and restoring form and function in his patients' extremities, and for treating congenital deformities, trauma, tumors, and degenerative diseases. Bill especially enjoyed his work in the cerebral palsy clinic.

He was a walking medical encyclopedia who absorbed information, knowledge and wisdom—anything that allowed him to provide the very best care to his patients and community.

Whether building a thumb for a child born without a fully functioning hand or exploring every avenue to provide life-saving surgery to a sick child, Bill was driven by an unbelievable inner conviction to do whatever possible to care for his young patients.

His heart for the children he served went beyond his official practice and showed up in daily visits to the bedside of the patients who didn’t have visitors. He spent months with children who were dying alone or recovering without a family present.

Regardless of where he was or his official title, children gravitated to Bill. His gentle kindness and genuine concern for each child he encountered was unmatched.

Bill considered providing medical care to children in Mississippi to be his "calling."

When he retired, his calling didn’t end, it simply shifted to caring for the children in his community. He was a mentor and a proxy grandfather who was present for school pick-ups, recitals, carpool to activities, graduations, and countless hours of legos and homework.

Bill was always reading, and kept his family and friends reading, too. He enjoyed topics spanning from religion and philosophy to physics and mathematics to English history and Russian literature.

He was always excited to engage in the topics that his friends and family were interested in. Each has stories about the books Bill gave them or read alongside them.

He was always learning, usually visiting family or making plans for the next trip, and walking the dog.

At home, he was witty, sarcastic, and direct, with a sense of humor right out of The Far Side. He could quote the Bible, physics, Star Trek and Sponge Bob with equal ease.

He was the first call when anyone needed help, reassurance, or a ride home.

His family saw him as their model of calm, gentleness, and patience. He couldn’t hear very well—anyone in the house could hear both sides of his phone conversations though he never used speaker phone. Yet he was incredibly observant, noticing the smallest details others missed.

While his wife and children can rattle off a list of the things he did and provided for them, it is the time he spent being present with them that leaves the biggest void.

Bill was a kind and gentle soul who unselfishly devoted his life to making the world a better place, especially for children. He was truly unique in how deeply he cared.

The world is less bright without Bill.

Bill is survived by his wife Jill-Allyn and his three children, Dr. Kaley, Samantha, and Thomas (Amber), all of whom he loved and was unselfishly devoted to. He also is survived by his siblings: Dr. Charles E.M. Campbell (Mary Ann), John C. McCluskey, Dr. Richard A. McCluskey (Angelica), and Susan I. Deasy (Richard), and 20 loving nieces and nephews.

Matthew 25:40 - "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."