Dr. John M. Tudor,Jr.

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John M. Tudor, Jr., MD

Nashville - John M. Tudor, Jr., MD died of natural causes June 5 at his home in Nashville. He was 98.

Dr. Tudor was preceded in death by his best friend and beloved wife of 30 years, Ann Randle Bond Tudor; his parents, John M. Tudor, Sr. and Mary Grace Ryan Tudor of Iowa City, Iowa; three sisters, Mary Ruth Tudor Jacobs of Moraga, California, Gwen Elizabeth Tudor Will of Washington, D.C. and Abbie Ann Tudor Eldredge of Salinas, California; his wife of 37 years, Hazel Leone Baker Tudor of Nashville and a stepdaughter, Natalie Bond Moss of Franklin, Tennessee.

Dr. Tudor is survived by three children, Mary Gurine Tudor, Elizabeth Ann Tudor Trabue (Nelson, Jr.) and John M. Tudor III, all of Nashville; two grandchildren, Claude Adam Tudor (Martha) of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Audra Grace Tudor Mikel (Charles) of Kennesaw, Georgia; two great grandchildren, Charles Isaac Mikel and Lillian Grace Mikel of Kennesaw, Georgia; a stepson, Edwin Daniel Moss (Ching Li) and two step granddaughters, Leah Mei Moss and Sophia Ann Moss, all of Pleasant View, Tennessee.

Dr. Tudor was born on a family farm near Iowa City, Iowa. He received his early education in the rural schools of Iowa, graduated from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and earned his medical degree at the College of Medicine at the State University of Iowa. During and after World War II, he served as a Medical officer in the U.S. Navy. Following discharge from the Navy, Dr. Tudor began his medical practice in Nashville in 1951, joining a fellow Iowa graduate, Oscar W. Carter, MD. This partnership was the foundation for Urology Associates, a firm that has since grown to over 30 doctors serving Davidson and surrounding counties

Dr. Tudor shared his knowledge and experience widely. In 1952, he received an appointment as a clinical instructor in urology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and advanced through the years to become an Associate Professor. He also held a teaching appointment at Meharry Medical College. Among other appropriate medical organizations, he was a Diplomate of the American Board of Urology and a Fellow of the College of Surgeons. He enjoyed clinical privileges at several Nashville hospitals, but practiced primarily at Baptist Hospital (now St. Thomas Hospital Midtown). In 1974, he and others of Baptist and Urology Associates established a clinical rotation for the urology residents of Vanderbilt which remains in place after 40 years.

His service to the medical profession extended beyond his practice in Nashville. In the mid 1980's, Dr. Tudor introduced lithotripsy to urologists in four Southeastern states as well as Middle Tennessee. Developed by the Dornier Corporation of Germany, lithotripsy is a minimally invasive procedure for the removal of kidney stones, which has nearly eliminated the need for surgery to treat this disease. Once this technology was in place at Urology Associates, he supervised its use for several years.

In 1985, incident to the progression of a disability due to post-polio syndrome, Dr. Tudor discontinued the active surgical practice of Urology and became the first Chief Medical Officer at Baptist where he had also served as Chief of Urology, President of Staff and Vice-chief and Chief of Staff. Well-liked by his supervisees, Dr. Tudor earned himself the nickname, "Velvet Hammer." Following his service at Baptist, he rejoined Urology Associates as Medical Director of the Center for Urinary Incontinence and concluded his professional career as a consultant for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

Dr. Tudor was a warm and compassionate gentleman. His first love was his family followed closely by dedication to his profession, but he also pursued many other activities. Chief among them was hunting duck, frequently in the river basins of West Tennessee, which were prone to flooding adjacent farms and timber land. Years earlier, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had begun "channelizing" these rivers, a process that meant dredging and grading what was otherwise a natural habitat for waterfowl. Dr. Tudor and three fellow duck hunters sued to stop the Corps. The lawsuit was ultimately successful. Dr. Tudor was also a strong supporter of Ducks Unlimited, a non-profit dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and other habitats for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Dr. Tudor was an excellent cook, a competent aviator and in his younger years, a wannabe tennis player. He played the tuba and the trombone. He trained dogs for quail hunting, but his longtime favorite canine was "Lucky," a Labrador retriever, always by his side in the duck blind. When Lucky didn't see a duck land in the water, Lucky swam for the sound of the splash.

Dr. Tudor loved baseball, rooting for the Atlanta Braves; music, classical and country, but especially the big band sound of the War years; and books about great leaders like Winston Churchill.

Because of restrictions related to COVID 19, there will be no Memorial service for Dr. Tudor. However, friends and colleagues who wish to remember him may do so by signing the Guest Book below, and as a second appropriate alternative, the family is planning a private grave site Memorial at Mt. Olivet so that his remains may be interred with those of his beloved wife, Ann Randle Bond Tudor.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating as follows: Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Rd., Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256; Nashville Rescue Mission, 639 Lafayette St., Nashville, TN 37203 or The Center for Living and Learning P.O. Box 50272, Nashville, TN 37205.

To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store. Published in Tennessean from Jun. 12 to Jun. 14, 2020.