William J. Callison, M.D.

William J. Callison, an orthopedic surgeon whose medical practice spanned 35 years in Asheville, died Sunday, May 11, 2008. He was 79.

Dr. Callison joined Drs. Walter M. Watts and Wayne S. Montgomery in 1960 as the third partner in the Asheville Bone & Joint Clinic, a practice which eventually merged with the Blue Ridge Orthopedic Clinic to form the Blue Ridge Bone & Joint. In 1982, he left the Asheville Bone & Joint Clinic to begin a solo practice devoted to foot and ankle surgery, which he continued until his retirement in 1995.

Born in the small town of Columbia in south central Kentucky on April 28, 1929 to Frank and Hazel Williams Callison, Dr.Callison graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1949, and from Vanderbilt University Medical School in 1952. After serving as a captain in the Medical Corps of the United States Air Force, based in Great Falls, Montana, he returned to Vanderbilt University Hospital to complete his general surgery and orthopedic residencies. He received his certification from the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons in 1962, and served on the staffs of both St. Joseph’s Hospital and Memorial Mission Hospital from 1960-1995 as well as an assistant clinical professor for the Duke University Medical School at the Asheville VA Medical Center.

At St. Joseph’s Hospital, he served as Chief of Surgery from 1976-1977, Chief of Staff from 1979-1980, and as Medical Director from 1990-1995. His professional memberships included the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and the American Foot and Ankle Society.

Dr. Callison practiced medicine and lived his life with integrity, and generations of patients attest his skilled and compassionate care. He chose Asheville as the location of his medical practice in his careful and deliberate way. An avid outdoorsman and fly fisherman, he loved both the mountains and the people of western North Carolina. He and his wife of 55 years, Patricia Lancaster Callison, built their home together in Beaverdam Valley in north Asheville and raised three children on wooded property purchased from his future in-laws, James R. Stokely, Jr. and his wife, Wilma Dykeman Stokely. His future father-in-law described the land as “not good for raising crops, but excellent for raising children.”

After retiring, Dr. Callison devoted his considerable energy to tending his Beaverdam homeplace, his small orchard, and his large vegetable garden. He was an active member of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church for over 40 years, serving multiple tenures as elder on its ruling Session. He enjoyed sharing vegetables from his garden with family and friends, and created and tended the Memorial Garden at Grace Covenant, an oasis for cremated remains of church members.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Callison is survived by his three children: Anne Callison Stokely, and her husband Jim of Hamilton, Massachusetts; William L. Callison, and his wife Rhonda, of Weaverville, NC; and Frank R. Callison, and his wife Janice of Spartanburg, SC.; his brother, James R. Callison, MD, and his wife Barbara of Scottsdale, AZ; seven grandchildren: Elizabeth Dykeman Stokely and William Callison Stokely of Massachusetts; Frank Carter Callison and Diana Burke Callison of Spartanburg, SC; and Virginia, Patricia, and Frank Callison of Asheville, NC.

Honoring Dr. Callison’s long association with St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Sisters of Mercy, the family encourages memorial donations be made to the Catherine McAuley Mercy Foundation, Sisters of Mercy Services Corporation, 445 Biltmore Center, Suite 501, Asheville, NC  28801.