John Mallory Packard, MD died in Homewood AL, on July 12. He was born in Saranac Lake NY on Sept. 25, 1920 to Edward Newman Packard, Jr., MD and Mary Bissell Betts Packard. He graduated from the Taft School and was an exchange scholar at St. Columba’s College in Dublin. After graduating from Yale University and Harvard Medical School, he interned at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and was a medical resident at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
A veteran of WWII and the Korean conflict, Dr. Packard completed military service as a Flight Surgeon in the US Navy in 1954. He was in the private practice of internal medicine and cardiology in Pensacola from 1954 to 1968, then moved to Birmingham as Director of the Alabama Regional Medical Program, Professor of Medicine, and Associate Dean of the Alabama School of Medicine. In 1973‑76 he helped found the College of Community Health Services at the University of Alabama, serving as Associate Dean and Professor and Chairman of Medicine. In 1976 he accepted the position of Director of Medical Education at the Birmingham Baptist Medical Centers, retiring in 1992. After retirement he worked with the American Council for Continuing Medical Education.
Dr. Packard was a member of numerous medical organizations and served as president of the Alabama Heart Association, the Alabama Society of Internists, the Birmingham Academy of Medicine, and the Central Alabama Coalition for the Employed but Medically Uninsured. He was a member of the Alabama and Birmingham Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Sons of the American Revolution. Throughout his life he was an active member of the Episcopal Church.
Dr. Packard was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Ann Schoonover Packard, and his son Charles. He is survived by four sons: Dr. Michael (Cath) of Fairfax VA; Dr. Shaun (Bitsy) of Guntersville AL; Krid Asvanon-Packard (Ann) of Bangkok Thailand; and Frank (Molly) of Birmingham AL; and by three daughters: Dr. Maurine (Jim Hudspeth) Packard of New York NY; Mary Betts Packard and Charlotte (Shawn) Manning, both of Birmingham AL. He is survived by nine grandchildren, three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson.
Visitation will be at Ridout Valley Chapel in Homewood at 5:00‑7:00 PM on Monday, July 15. A memorial service will be held at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Vestavia Hills, at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, July 16. His ashes will be committed to the columbarium at Ascension. Memorials may be made to the Church of the Ascension, Episcopal Place, or a favorite charity.
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