Dr. Gary Waldrop

Milton Gary Waldrop passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 11, 2016. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 19, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. at St. Paul ’s Episcopal Church, 311 College Street , Columbus , MS 39701 , with Rev. Anne Harris officiating. Visitation will be immediately afterwards in the Earline Robertson Room at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Memorial and Gunter & Peel Funeral Homes is in charge of the arrangements.

Born Feb 11, 1937, in Grenada , MS, he was the only child of Milton Jasper and Selma Cleveland Waldrop. He was a two-sport high school star in basketball and football at John Rundle High School in Grenada , Mississippi , where in the fall of his senior year he earned High School All-America honors in football. He was a percussionist in the Lions All-State Band, and he also achieved the rank of Eagle Scout (BSA).

In the fall of 1955 he enrolled at Mississippi College , where he would meet Jackie Lewis, whom he married in December of 1958. After receiving his DDS from the University of Tennessee School of Dentistry, he was activated in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson , SC. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1963 at the rank of captain, he and Jackie moved to Columbus with their two infant sons, Milton Jeffrey and Arthur Jack.

He spent the rest of his life in Columbus where he and Jackie had two more sons: Daniel Lewis and Jonathan Gary. He built a distinguished dental practice, doing post-doctoral stints at the L.D. Pankey Institute. In 1978 he was elected as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists. He was a life member of the Mississippi Dental Association and assisted many younger dentists as they set up practice in Columbus . He retired fully in 2011 after 60 years of dentistry.

He attended and served in various lay positions at Fairview Baptist, First Baptist and St. Paul ’s Episcopal churches of Columbus . He volunteered countless hours as a coach and mentor for youth sports teams and contributed time and money to the YMCA and age-group swimming in Columbus . He served on the Columbus school board during the desegregation of public schools in Mississippi . He was a member of the Civitan and Kiwanis organizations.

He was a dutiful and loving husband, father and friend. He sacrificed a lot of personal time and interests for his family and others. He was a conscientious citizen until his last day. He was generous to a fault, giving away incalculable amounts of dental work to the needy as well as making significant contributions to numerous churches and charitable organizations. He enjoyed fishing into his 70s, and liked relaxing next to the grill or deep fryer.

He was a man who was both driven but compassionate, demanding but self-critical to an extreme; averse to nonsense but given to wise-cracks; unpretentious in manner but always meticulously dressed. His biggest fear was that he would overstay his welcome or become a burden to others.

God honored him with a dignified and serene exit, but it was too early for those of us who knew and loved him. In the immortal words of Shakespeare, “Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

He is survived by his wife, Jackie, of 57 years; his four sons: Jeff (and his wife, Katherine), Art (and his wife, Kathleen), Daniel and Jonathan; and his grandchildren: Quin, Eliza, Jeffrey and Sophie.

Memorials made be made to the Endowment Fund at St. Paul ’s Episcopal Church at 318 College Street , Columbus , MS 39701 or to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.