J. Ollie Edmunds, Jr MD

Dr. Edmunds was internationally known as a teacher, lecturer, author, and pioneer of surgical procedures and medical software. He practiced medicine for forty-four years before retiring in 2015 as Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Known to most as "Ollie," Dr. Edmunds was born to Emily Caroline Bryant Edmunds and J. Ollie Edmunds, Sr. in Jacksonville, Florida on September 18, 1940. He spent his early years in Deland, Florida where his father was president of Stetson University. After graduating from Woodberry Forest High School in Virginia, Dr. Edmunds attended Washington and Lee University for two years, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi before transferring to Stanford University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences. He then spent a year at Regent's Park College at the University of Oxford. He was an avid wrestler during high school and college. In 1967, he graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine and started his internship at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, where he met his future wife, Karen Ann Oser. They later married in New Orleans on April 11, 1970.

In 1968, Dr. Edmunds went to Naval Air Station Pensacola for training as a flight surgeon. He was then stationed at Naval Air Station New York. He also worked at St. Albans Naval Hospital taking care of soldiers returning from Vietnam. After the Navy, he set course for Duke University, where he completed residencies in general surgery and orthopaedic surgery, in addition to a fellowship in hand and microvascular surgery.

In 1976, Dr. Edmunds moved his family back to Karen's hometown of New Orleans, where he joined the faculty at Tulane University in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Edmunds served as the Chief of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at Tulane University Medical Center, Charity Hospital of New Orleans, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Edmunds worked for several years at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Nashville and served as a Visiting Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical School.

Dr. Edmunds was a Fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association and the American College of Surgeons. He was a past president of the Southern Orthopaedic Association and the Louisiana Orthopaedic Association. He was also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the Southern Orthopaedic Association and later the Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances. He was especially known for surgical procedures of the thumb basal joint and hemophiliac joint replacement. Countless patients appreciated his kindness and compassion. Dr. Edmunds also designed medical software as Chairman of Aesculapius Technologies.

After his father's death, Dr. Edmunds became Chairman of Gualala Redwoods, Inc., managing timber north of San Francisco, in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. He was also a member of Abita Springs Timber Company, L.L.C. in St. Tammany Parish.

Dr. Edmunds and his sister, Jane Edmunds Novak, co-founded the J. Ollie Edmunds Distinguished Scholarship Program at Stetson University, in honor of their father. Since 1997, the full-scholarship program has funded dozens of "Edmunds Scholars" to attend Stetson. In 2022, Stetson University awarded Dr. Edmunds an honorary doctorate.

He loved the New Orleans Saints and popcorn. On his way home from work, he would often stop at the Prytania Theatre—just to buy the popcorn. He also loved to sing. With his deep vocal range, he sang bass in the choir at the Tulane Catholic Center during Sunday mass. While in Nashville after Katrina, he sang in the choir at Cathedral of the Incarnation.

Personally, he was most proud of his talented and beautiful family. His loving wife of 55 years, Karen Oser Edmunds, is an artist. "Happiness is being married to your best friend," he used to say. Professionally, Dr. Edmunds was most proud of the generations of medical students he taught, including the approximately 250 Tulane orthopaedic residents he trained over four decades. He was awarded the Outstanding Orthopaedic Faculty Teacher Award at Tulane in 1981 and 1996, and the Spartacus Maximus Award in 2011.

Dr. Edmunds is survived by his wife, Karen; his children Anne (Ernie) Aguirre of Nashville; John (Rachel) Edmunds and their children, Julian & Rosie of Rutherford, NJ; Caroline (Ryan) Purdy of Maplewood, NJ; and Chris (Cristina) Edmunds and their children, Oscar & Arabella of New Orleans; and his sister, Jane (Wayne) Edmunds Novak of Atlantic Beach, FL. Dr. Edmunds' family is beyond grateful for Dr. Mark Berenson, Hospice Specialists of Louisiana, and the wonderful caretakers who served him selflessly during the final years of his life, especially Renaldo, Nicole, Sherlita, and Taylor.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Church in New Orleans, directly followed by a funeral mass at Noon. The mass will be live-streamed at https://hnjchurch.org. Interment services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Ollie Edmunds Research and Education Fund at Tulane University Orthopedics at https://tinyurl.com/mwuscn4 or the charity of your choice.