John Gregory Gassaway was born at home in Saltillo, Mississippi, on January 28, 1941, to James Clovis and Molly Rozelle Leslie Gassaway. And thus began a long and productive life. After a lengthy illness, he passed away peacefully at Clay County Medical Center on February 10, 2024, at age 83.
January 28, 1941 – February 10, 2024. This is the “dash” of the life of John.
It can be said that almost every action in his life was significant. It began with his name. Clovis had long felt the calling to preach. He had never answered that call. But when John was born, his father said, “His name is John.” And his father stood in a pulpit for the first time in late Spring of 1941. Clovis was ordained in 1942.
The attending doctor for his birth was Dr. Archie Lee Gregory. Dr. Gregory was a familiar sight to people in Saltillo and Birmingham Ridge. He was a family doctor, but he made house calls. John’s middle name was in honor of Dr. Gregory.
John graduated from Saltillo High School in 1959, winning the Balfour Award his senior year. During his years in high school, he was the electrician and major set builder for high school plays, a voice in Miss Frances Gregory’s High School Chorus, and a playmaker on the Saltillo Tiger Basketball Team.
Teammates on that team included “Bozie” Hutcheson, Virgil Hutcheson, and James Wood. These four also became his band buddies in the first Rock N Roll Band in Northeast Mississippi. The band was named “The Rock N Roll Rockets”. John was the piano player for the band. He played like Jerry Lee Lewis before anyone had heard of Jerry Lee Lewis. They rode in the MS-AL Fair Parade, choosing their favorite attire: black
slacks and pink shirts.
After high school graduation, he attended Itawamba Junior College (now ICC) from 1959-60 and enrolled in pre-engineering. At the end of his freshman year, he received the Chemistry Award. He transferred to the University of Mississippi and was enrolled in the pre-medical program for 1960-62. He was a member of Alpha Epsilon Alpha and the Pre-med Honor Society. While there, he made fast friends with science professors who encouraged him. He took the MCAT and was accepted as a student at the University
of Mississippi School of Medicine after three years of college. He was there from 1962-66.
After receiving his medical degree, he served his internship rotating with the U. S. Public Health Service (PHS) in New Orleans, LA, for the years 1966-67. He transferred to Memphis, TN, with the U. S. PHS and spent the years 1967-71 as a O-3 Senior Assistant Surgeon.
The years of 1971-75 were with the U. S. PHS in New York City. For his tour in NYC, he became a part of the Commissioned Corps of the Coast Guard, engaged in a residency for orthopedic surgery, and was affiliated with the New York Medical College, Metropolitan Medical – Trauma, St. Charles Children’s Hospital – Pediatrics, and Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
He received recognition as a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery in March 1978. He was received as a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery in March 1979. As part of his duty with the Coast Guard, he was at sea for six (6 weeks on the USCGC McCulloch in the summer of 1971. He was discharged from the U. S. Public Health Service as an O-5 Senior Surgeon 1974.
Dr. Gassaway established a practice in orthopedic surgery in Starkville, MS, in 1975 and was at that location until 1982. At that time, he opened a clinic in West Point, MS, as part of the medical team that would support the new Clay County Medical Center. The West Point Clinic was open from 1982 until his retirement in 2011.
During his years in the Golden Triangle area, he was a Staff Member of the Oktibbeha County Hospital from 1975-82 and Ivy Memorial Hospital in West Point in 1982; Consultant in Orthopedics, and Director of Region 7 Crippled Children’s Clinic: Mississippi Crippled Children’s Service. In addition, he was Director of North
Mississippi; Emergency Medical Service from 1976 to 1981. He served as Director and Instructor for North MS EMT Paramedic Program from 1978 to 1990. He was a member of the State Paramedic Committee from 1978 to 1981. He was president and Director of East Oktibbeha Volunteer Fire Department in 1992. He was the Orthopedic Doctor of Record for the Clay County Medical Center from 1982 to 2011. His was a life of service to his patients, to the community, and to the state.
The “Doc” was especially devoted to the Crippled Children that came to his clinic. He opened his practice on Friday afternoons for any crippled children, paying or not. They presented a plaque to him that read: “To the Gentle Giant.”
Dr. John was joined in this service by his wife of 52 years, JoAnn Cavenagh, formerly of Staten Island, NY. JoAnn, as an RN, an operating room nurse, and a skilled CCU nurse, was his constant helper.
John and JoAnn were married in 1972, a marriage that produced three exceptional children: Bryan Louis (Rebecca) of Huntsville, AL; James Kevin (Brittany) of Magnolia, TX; JoLynn (Mike) Day of Earle, AR. There are seven grandchildren: William Elliot, Lucy Jane, Victoria Rose, and Sadie Louise, born to Bryan and Rebecca; James Nicholas “Nic,” Molly Grace, and Daniel Jackson, born to Jim and Brittany.
John was predeceased by his parents, Clovis and Rozelle Gassaway, and his elder brother, James David Gassaway., PhD (Anna Ray).
Left to remember and honor him are his wife, JoAnn; his children, Bryan, Jim, and JoLynn; their spouses, his seven grandchildren; his younger brother, Thomas “Tom” Leslie Gassaway (Kay); his older sister, Mary Louise G. O’Gwynn.
The funeral service will be Wednesday, February 14, at Beulah Primitive Baptist Church in Saltillo, MS. The service will begin at 11 AM. The family will be there to receive at 10:30. Burial will follow in the Church cemetery
