Dr. James T. Littlejohn

February 8, 1922 ~ May 27, 1999
Born in Clanton, Alabama, Dr. Littlejohn was the son of the late James Elbert and Dezzie Headley Littlejohn. He attended public school in Jemison, Alabama and received an A.B. degree from the University of Alabama and an M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1945. He received further post-graduate education in cardiology at the Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Littlejohn served as a Captain in the Marine Corps in WW II,serving in the Philippines and Japan.
He interned at Lloyd Nolan Hospital in Fairfield, Alabama, (1945-1946) and served his residencies at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (1948-1949) and at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital (1950-1951). Following this, he began a practice of Internal Medicine in Asheville, where he was instrumental in the establishment of a free medical clinic at Memorial Mission Hospital.
Following his retirement in 1989, he was an expert medical consultant for federal and state divisions of health and human services. He also continued his passion for golf and lifelong comraderie with cohorts, dear friends and family.
He was a Senior Attending Staff Member of Memorial Mission and St. Joseph's Hospitals, as well as a member of the Buncombe County, the North Carolina and the American Medical Associations. Dr. Littlejohn was a Diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
He was a member of the Biltmore Forest Country Club and an Honorary Board member of Memorial Mission Hospital. He was a former member of the Asheville Rotary, the Red Cross Board and the Vestry of All Souls Cathedral.
Dr. Littlejohn is survived by his wife of 50 years, Shirley Smith Littlejohn; three daughters and their husbands, Laura and Bruce Rogers of Asheville, Elaine and Philip Gennett of Fairview, Elizabeth and Jeff Waggoner of Dallas, Texas; five grandchildren, whom he adored, Elizabeth and Patricia Rogers, Sarah and Philip Gennett and Jamie Waggoner; a brother, Charles E. Littlejohn of Atlanta and a half-sister, Erin Wettig of Arizona.
Services will be held at 1 pm Monday in All Souls Cathedral conducted by The Very Reverend Todd Donatelli and The Very Reverend Alex Viola. Interment will follow in Calvary Episcopal Churchyard.
His family will receive friends from 4 until 7 pm Sunday at Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian, where Dr. Littlejohn will remain until being placed in the church one hour prior to the service.
Memorials may be made to the Mission Foundation, Owen Heart Center, 509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 or to Dr. Stephen Groft, Director of the Office of Rare Diseases, National Institute of Health, for the cause and treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892
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