Dr. James Malachi Whittico, Jr. (1916 –2018) was born in Williamson, West Virginia, the son of Dr. James Whittico, Sr. and Nannie Lee Cobbs Whittico. James Whittico, Sr. struggled as the only African American doctor in Williamson but was able to gain a more secure foothold in part due to an early friendship with the Hatfield family of the legendary “Hatfield and McCoy Feud.” Nannie Lee Cobbs Whittico was an educator who eventually became Dean of Women at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. As the only child of two highly educated African Americans during the Jim Crow era, Whittico, Jr. enjoyed a life of relative privilege compared to his cohorts. As he recalled later, “life was good.”

He graduated from high school in 1932 at the age 15 as the class salutatorian and matriculated at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. After completing an undergraduate degree, he enrolled at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. Upon graduation in 1940, he sought an internship and residency at the celebrated Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. During World War II, he joined the Army Medical Corps as a first lieutenant, and he became the first African American from Missouri to be a military hospital surgeon in combat duty. He rose to the rank of Major and received a recommendation for elevation to Lieutenant Colonel. Among his many commendations was a Bronze Star.

He returned to St. Louis following his discharge in 1946 and embarked on an extraordinary career. He saw patients in his private practice for 65 years, until his retirement at the age of 99. In 1952, he helped to found the Mound City Medical Center, the first African American multidisciplinary practice in St. Louis. He held teaching positions at Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing, St. Mary’s Infirmary School of Nursing, Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis University School of Medicine. He was president of the local Mound City Medical Forum and in 1967, he was elected president of the National Medical Association. Under his leadership, he instituted a program that successfully increased the number of African American physicians nationwide. He also induced President Lyndon B. Johnson to address the 1968 annual NMA meeting held in Houston. It was the first time that a sitting president addressed the body.

Dr. Whittico was a 33rd Degree Mason and holder of the Honorary Past Imperial Potentate Degree. He was the Imperial Director of Medical Services for the Imperial Shriners Council and its Imperial Health and Medical Research Foundation from 1987-2002.

In 1979, Dr. Whittico, along with three other black physicians, was invited to join the Veiled Prophet organization, the first time that African Americans were issued invitations. He declined.

Gloria Yvonne Thompson Whittico (1923-2014) was the daughter of Susie Ellens and Elvis Thompson. Born in St. Louis, she attended Marshall Elementary School and graduated from Sumner High School in 1941. She enrolled at Stowe Teachers College and received an Early Childhood Education degree in 1946. Her degree specialized in kindergarten.

She married James Whittico on June 20, 1948 and they had two children, Jarrhet and Joi.