Dr. Thomas H. Gandy - Submitted by Richard P. Sevier USGenWeb NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************ Dr. Thomas H. Gandy - Madison Parish, Louisiana From Natchez Democrat, February 2, 2004 Dr. Thomas H. Gandy July 31, 1921 - Jan. 26, 2004 NATCHEZ - Services for Dr. Thomas H. Gandy, who died Monday, Jan. 26, 2004, at his residence following a long illness, will be 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, graveside at Natchez City Cemetery, with Dr. Brock Watson officiating. Visitation will be afterwards, 4 to 6 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church in Stratton Chapel. Dr. Gandy was born July 31, 1921, in Tallulah, La., the son of Robert Wiley Gandy and Ellen Penfield Gandy. His parents preceded him in death as did two brothers, Robert Wiley Gandy Jr. and William Fredrick Gandy, and one sister, Mary Helen Loe. Survivors include his wife, Joan Warren Gandy of Natchez; six children, Susan Gandy Olds, Warren Buford Gandy, Thomas Howard Gandy Jr. and William Wiley Gandy, all of Baton Rouge, Melissa Warren Good of Cambridge, England, and Nancy Chandler Rosebrock of Asheville, N.C.; and one sister, Eleanor Gandy Terzia of Monroe. Dr. Gandy attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, completing pre-medical studies and continuing at the LSU School of Medicine. In 1946, after an internship and a nine-months residency at Shreveport Charity Hospital, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Navy and served first at the New Orleans Naval Hospital for several months before assignment to the First Marine Division at Tientsin, China, and then at Tsingtao, China, where he served until 1948. After his return to the United States, he continued work at the Shreveport hospital to complete his three-year residency in internal medicine and pathology. A beloved physician who cared for many families in Mississippi and Louisiana during his four decades of practicing medicine in Natchez, he was a leader in the medical community, serving as chief of staff at the public hospital and appointed to the hospital's board of trustees. He was the first physician to serve as the board's chairman. Throughout his busy medical career, he also became active in civic affairs. For his dedication to the community, the Mississippi Medical Association presented him with its prestigious 1989 Community Service Award. Some of his community service activities stemmed from his acquisition in 1960 of a large and important collection of photographic negatives. The many thousands of old glass and celluloid plates covered about 100 years of Natchez history. With his talents and self-taught skills, he opened a window into a Natchez that had not been seen before as he made prints and began to share them with the world. In 1970, Dr. Gandy was named chairman of the city's newly organized Architectural Review Board. That board led the way for today's Preservation Commission and the important preservation laws helping to save the city's architectural treasures. In 1972, he was elected president of the Natchez Historical Society and through that position was the guiding force behind the establishment of the Historic Natchez Foundation, the city's premier preservation body. Numerous organizations have presented awards to Dr. Gandy for his work in preservation and history, including the American Association for State and Local History, the Mississippi Historical Society, the National Park Service and others. In 1988, he was cited for distinguished service by the Friends of the LSU Libraries. And in 1999, he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction. With his wife, Joan Gandy, he has produced several books based on the historic Natchez photographs and has exhibited the photographs around the United States as well as in other countries. About 550 of his works hang at Stratton Chapel in Natchez, an exhibition open to the public six days a week and visited by thousands of people each year. Natchez photographs from his collection have appeared in national and international magazines, newspapers and films. His fondest hope, he often said, was to live "a useful life." His family hopes friends and colleagues will join them Thursday to celebrate that life at the gravesite and at Stratton Chapel. The family suggests memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Natchez, the Historic Natchez Foundation or Friends of the Natchez City Cemetery.