Pioneering the Wiregrass Medical Revolution: In recent times, healthcare has risen to prominence, surpassing agriculture as Dothan’s primary industry. Positioned as the medical hub for the entire Wiregrass, rural northwest Florida, and southwest Georgia, Dothan boasts top-tier medical professionals rivaled only by Birmingham in Alabama. The city’s economy, known for being the world’s largest peanut-producing locale, is now heavily influenced by the medical field.
A trailblazer in this medical evolution was the late Dr. Furnie Johnston of Dothan, who passed away at the age of 94. Dr. Johnston played a pivotal role in introducing specialized medicine to Dothan. Having completed his residency at UAB, he initially practiced in Birmingham. However, the renowned Dr. Paul Flowers beckoned Johnston back to the Wiregrass, where he became Dothan’s first orthopedic surgeon.
Hailing from Brundidge in Pike County, just north of Dothan, Dr. Johnston’s roots were deeply embedded. Born to the town’s pharmacist and successful businessman, his journey took a serendipitous turn when he married Jo Kirkland, the daughter of Ozark’s prominent pharmacist. This union of a Brundidge boy and an Ozark girl endured for 75 years until Dr. Johnston’s passing on October 9.
Facing some health challenges in the weeks leading to his death, Dr. Johnston expressed a desire to return home to be with his wife. Together, Furnie and Jo Johnston raised five children, weathering the tragic loss of one son, Jim, in a car accident. Their surviving son, David Johnston, has become a prominent attorney in Dothan, renowned as the premier tax attorney in south Alabama.
The bond between father and son, described as best friends, extended to family connections when David married Maurine Matthews, also from Ozark. Dr. Johnston’s three daughters, Carole, Linda, and Laura, each successful and with their own families, were by his side when he peacefully passed away at home, affectionately calling him “Papa.”
Born in 1929 during the Great Depression in Brundidge, Dr. Furnie Johnston grew up in a peanut-centric agricultural landscape in southeast Alabama. Empathetic to the rural Wiregrass community, he began practicing medicine before the era of Medicare and Medicaid. In those times, doctors often received payments in the form of vegetables or chickens from grateful farmers.
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Known for his generosity, Dr. Johnston treated many Wiregrass families without charge, particularly those from his native Pike County. Patients from Ozark, Brundidge, and Troy seeking bone specialist Dr. Furnie Johnston would journey to Dothan, referring to him simply as “Furnie Jr.” or “Dr. Johnston.”
His legacy as a compassionate and pioneering orthopedic surgeon lives on, marking the end of an era. Dr. Furnie Johnston’s impact on transforming Dothan from a peanut city to a medical city will be remembered as a testament to his pioneering spirit.
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