Dr. Jerry N. Clanton

Dr. Jerry Clanton, age 91, born May 3, 1933 to Ray and Lucille Woodward Clanton in Warren, Arkansas, died March 24, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky where he had made his home since 1972.

As a young man, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia where he attended Savannah High School and was president of his senior class. Jerry went on to attend Mississippi College where he met Janis Ming from Louisville, Mississippi. They married in 1953 and moved to Nashville where Jerry attended Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, graduating with honors as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Society. He received his medical degree and board certification in anatomic pathology at Vanderbilt. Jerry continued his training at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and the University of Alabama School of Medicine where he was an assistant professor and received his second board certification in clinical pathology. They moved to Huntsville, Alabama where Dr. Clanton was chief of pathology at the new Medical Center Hospital. In 1969, Extendicare (now Humana) bought the hospital and this connection with David Jones ultimately led to him being hired as chief of pathology at the new Suburban Hospital and St. Joseph Infirmary in Louisville and contracted to start the new laboratories for the hospitals.

Dr. Clanton served as chief of pathology at Suburban, Audubon, Southwest, Norton and St. Mary’s hospitals and was responsible for the clinical lab at Norton Children’s Hospital, and central lab at the University of Louisville Hospital. He served on executive committees for many years at most of these hospitals. Jerry’s interest in clinical labs and lab management led him to start Clinical Pathology Associates, a private lab which he ran for more than 30 years. CPA lab was purchased by Norton Healthcare in 2008 and now services all of their medical offices and hospitals. Dr. Clanton continued to serve as a consultant to Norton Healthcare for several years until his retirement. At the time of the sale, CPA consisted of 15 pathologists and has now grown to 28 board-certified pathologists, providing comprehensive anatomical, clinical and cytopathology services for health care providers throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Jerry was thoughtful, strategic and generous as he helped secure funding from all the community pathologists and Humana for an endowed position within the department of pathology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Forever reading and current in medical and financial news, Jerry was a devoted and conscientious doctor, always working to provide better clinical lab services and mentor young pathologists and lab technicians. As a side interest, he invested in several local banks, buying Magnolia Bank with friends Tom Watson, Darrell Wells and Ed Mason. Jerry enjoyed his tenure as president and board chairman of Magnolia Bank in Hodgenville, Kentucky and was on their board for 30 years, growing their business into Elizabethtown, Ky.

He was a member of the American Board of Pathology (Anatomic and Clinical), the Kentucky Association of Pathologists, the Jefferson County Medical Society, the Kentucky Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, the American Association of Blood Banks, the American Society of Cytology, the American Pathology Foundation and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society.

Jerry is survived by his wife Jan and they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in December 2023. Their only child, Jana Clanton Dowds, resides in Louisville, Ky. and St. George’s, Bermuda with her husband, John. His two grandchildren are Emily Holland O’Donovan (Kyle) a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut and Edward Alden Dowds, who resides in Brooklyn, New York and three great grandchildren, Henry, Wilder and Amelia O’Donovan. A loving husband, father and great grandfather, Jerry delighted in traveling with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, spending holidays in New York, Bermuda and New Canaan, Connecticut.

For 20 years, Jerry and Jan were residents of Naples, Florida and divided their time between Kentucky and Florida. Jerry enjoyed tennis and played until the age of 89. For more than 50 years, he was a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville. He served on the Board of Directors of Georgetown College, Kentucky and Sullivan University in Louisville. In Florida, he was a member of the Country Club of Naples, the Naples Golf and Beach Club and in Louisville, the Pendennis Club and the Louisville Boat Club.

Visitation will be Friday, May 10, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. at Pearson’s Funeral Home, 149 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, Kentucky 40207.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Broadway Baptist Church on Saturday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m.

Memorial gifts may be made in his name to Broadway Baptist Church, 4000 Brownsboro Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40207 or to The Parklands of Floyd’s Fork, 1411 Beckley Creek Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40245.