Dr. Alvie Carl (Al) McCully

Dr. Alvie Carl (Al) McCully passed away to join his loving wife, Imogene (Jean) McCully of more than 60 years, and his Savior, Jesus Christ, in heaven on October 3, 2023. He was attended by his children, Bob, Bill, Patti and Mari – especially Bill, who was loathe to leave his father’s side in his final days on earth, as well as Big Bend Hospice (thank you, Brenda) and Nena Davis (Hopewell Home Health Care). Though he served on the board of the Westminster Foundation for many years, and he had a number of friends who lived at Westminster Oaks and in other assisted living facilities in our community, Al always wanted to remain at the home where he and Jean raised their family. An ever-present reminder of all the good times the family spent there together hung on the wall near Al’s favorite chair – an embroidered piece created and framed by Jean with the message “Love Lives Here.” In addition to Jean, Al was preceded in death by his father, Millard (when Al was only nine years old), his mother, Lillie Mae (Putt) McCully and his loving sister, Ruby Nell McCully Sherfey. With Millard’s passing at such a young age, life was not easy for Al, Ruby and their mother (who was both deaf and mute since birth). Nevertheless, Al excelled at everything that he put his mind to. He was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Plantersville (MS) High School, and often bragged that focusing on his studies was no easy feat since he was the only male among the nine female classmates that graduated with him in 1946. (He always said that “Mississippi girls are the prettiest” – that is until he met Jean who hailed from Sparta, Tennessee!) Upon graduation from high school, Al enlisted in the Navy where he served from 1946 to 1948. Upon his discharge from the Navy, Al returned to Mississippi and attended his first years of medical school at Ole Miss. (“Hotty Toddy, Gosh A’mighty . . . !”) He graduated in 1952, then went on to the University of Tennessee in Memphis for his surgical training. This is where he met Jean who had just graduated with her degree in Nursing there the year before. Miss Imogene Elrod had been a “Sweetheart” for the Xi Psi Phi fraternity. The frat house had a picture of her and other pictures of the pretty girls who had been similarly honored. But when Al and Jean became “steady,” he stole her picture from the fraternity house, He cherished that picture throughout his life because it accentuated her “bright eyes” which was his most often used term of endearment for Jean. The wedding was held in 1954 – just one month after Al’s graduation from UT. Bob was born the next year. Patti was born a little over a year later in Al’s hometown of Tupelo, MS, where Al was practicing medicine at the time. After a few years in Tupelo, Al and Jean returned to Memphis for Al to begin his internship in urology. Bill was born there, in 1958, and Mari came along in 1961. While in Memphis, Al and Jean became friends with Richard (Dick) Dozier, M.D., who hailed from Tallahassee and his wife, Beverly. It was 1961 when Dick arranged for Al to be invited to Tallahassee to meet the city’s only urologists at the time, H. Lawrence Smith, M.D., and Robert J. Webster, M.D. The two brought him as a guest to a Beachcombers’ soiree where Al was plied with fresh, raw oysters and other seafood from the nearby Gulf. Al was so enthused with his short visit here that the Mississippi boy called his Tennessee bride and told her to “pack the kids into the station wagon, because we’re moving to Tallahassee!” Though Jean gave birth to twin boys the following year, neither were strong enough to survive. They are buried in Roselawn Cemetery where Jean was buried when she passed in 2014 and Al will be laid to rest with them there as well. Al was renowned for his bright blue eyes and easy-going nature among his patients, his comrades in the medical field, friends, acquaintances and even with the strangers he encountered during his many years on earth. He loved to play tennis and he continued to play even when he was well into his eighties with the other “Golden Boys” as they call themselves at Forestmeadows. He also loved to play penny-ante poker and had several groups of friends with whom he played regularly. He was a fan of FSU and Ole Miss sports – especially football and baseball. He and Jean supported both the athletic and academic programs of FSU, and Al served on the faculty of that other college a few miles south of Tallahassee for a number of years. He also served his country and his fellow veterans by working at the Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas VA Clinic here in Tallahassee for nearly twenty years after he had retired from private practice with the Southeastern Urology Clinic. Almost from the day they arrived here, Al and Jean immersed themselves in the community and they each contributed greatly toward improving the health, social services and beauty of Tallahassee through their volunteerism and philanthropic efforts. While there are too many to name here, Big Bend Hospice was Jean’s “signature cause,” and befittingly that organization has provided much love and support in return. They honored her in naming the Jean McCully Family House and they provided end-of-life care and support for each of them as well as for the entire McCully family. Al’s many causes number even greater than Jean’s, and similarly are too numerous to name here. In addition to Big Bend Hospice, some of Al’s favorite causes were the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend, Echo, Elder Care Services, Refuge House, and Faith Presbyterian Church and its various ministries. If he had a “signature cause,” it would have to be the WeCare Program administered by the Capital Medical Society (CMS). Al served on the Board of Directors for CMS, as well as Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (and the TMH Foundation) and the Neighborhood Medical Center, he served as President for the Florida Urological Association, Exchange Club and Springtime Tallahassee; and he either served or promoted numerous other local causes - both personally and also through his service to the Charles A. Frueauff Foundation (CAFF). It was 1984 when Al and Jean’s good friend and neighbor, Harry A. Frueauff, invited Al to serve as a Trustee on the CAFF Board of Trustees. The CAFF was founded by Harry’s brother in 1950; and has awarded grants exceeding $100,000,000.00 to hundreds of various not-for-profit social service, health and educational organizations throughout the nation. In the 30 years that Al served as Trustee, President or Trustee Emeritus for the CAFF, the organization awarded over $20,000,000 in grants just within the State of Florida - and not a small percentage of that was given right here in Tallahassee. Al was 95 years old when he passed. In addition to his four children, he is survived by his six grandchildren, Donald Bennett, Erin Alford, Brian Shoemaker, and Wayne, Patrick and Shannon McCully. There are nine great-grandchildren surviving him as well. The entire family mourns his loss as do many other friends and loved ones. He was truly loved by many. He will be missed by those he has left behind, but we are all happy for him to once again enjoy the company of the many, many loved ones who preceded him to the Promised Land where we, too, will join him one day when our lives on this earth are ended. A memorial service for Al McCully will be held at Faith Presbyterian Church on October 17, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. followed by a reception to greet the family in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that those wanting to gift a memorial donation in Al’s honor do so to any favorite charity or religious organization of their choosing. In so giving, remember the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Rocky Bevis of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.

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Dr. Alvie Carl (Al) McCully

May 22, 1928 - October 3, 2023