| JoAnne Whitaker |
Full Name: JoAnne Whitaker
Born: February 8, 1927, Bartow, Fla.
Died: December 5, 2008, Winter Haven, Fla.
Awards: 2004 Champions Beyond the Game
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Selected as a Champion Beyond the Game in 2004 Dr. Jo Anne Whitaker, a 1948 graduate in microbiology, was F Club President, a Tri-Delt and active in student affairs as an undergraduate. During her college years she was a two-year winner of the Florida Amateur Women's Golf Association tournament and was the first woman to play in the Florida Open Championship. A graduate of Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest College she has had special training in hematology, nutrition, oncology, psychiatry and bacteriology. She has been Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas and Illinois and St. Louis University and at the Chieng Mai University in Thailand. She originated, and was the Medical Director for the first Hospice in Florida. In addition, she served as the Director of Research for the Arthritis Pain Center in Clearwater and a Director of the Chronic Pain Center in Colorado. Currently she is president and Director of Research for the Bowen Research and Training Institute in Palm Harbor, Florida. Two particular areas of interest are the effects of Lyme Disease and the use of alternative medicines. Her honors, among
many, include Distinguished Service Award by the American Medical Society,
Distinguished Service Award by the American Medical Society, Distinguished
Service Award by the Vietnam Government, the Health Medal, the Florida
State Emeritus Club Commitment to Excellence Award and Who's Who in
American Women. Obituary for Dr. JoAnne Whitaker Published in News-Chief from Jan. 1 to Jan. 2, 2009. WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Dr. JoAnne Whitaker, known to her family and friends as "Bopie", died peacefully on December 5, 2008 after her health failed due to many irreversible complications. The cause of death was respiratory failure. Her devoted dog and companion, "Jazz" was by her side. Born in Bartow, Florida on February 8th, 1927, Dr. Whitaker attended Bartow High School. Her family later moved to Winter Haven and she went on to attend Florida State University and upon graduation, enrolled at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. She was an internationally recognized research and teaching physician. Dr. Whitaker had extensive fellowship programs in pediatric, hematology, oncology, nutrition and psychiatry and taught in seven different medical schools. Her work as a doctor, researcher and instructor took her allover the country including places such as Sloan-Kettering and Bellevue hospitals (New York), Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Parkland Memorial Hospital and Children's Medical Center in Dallas Texas. She also spent nine years in Southeast Asia, starting a medical school and nutrition lab in Thaihind and developing research and training programs for Vietnamese physicians at the Children's Hospital in Saigon. Dr. Whitaker was a prominent international research who developed a new method to provide physicians with an accurate test for Lyme disease. She authored over 70 publications and accumulated numerous awards and citations throughout her career. She was president and director of research at the Bowen Research & Training Institute located in both Pinellas County's Tarpon Springs and Lake Alfred. To her friends and family, Bopie will always be remembered for her spirit and passion for the study of medicine and her favorite sport, golf. Bopie was taught the game by the late Pete Cooper beginning at the age eleven. She spent many evening learning to swing the club by the light of the car headlights at the Cleveland Heights Golf Club. In an article written about Bopie while in medical school, she is talked about as follows: "With a drive in everything she undertakes as forcible as she wields the golf club, Bopie is always the one to set the pace. She distinguished herself early in her college career as an athlete of multiple ability and culminated her sports activities by becoming a 2-time winner of the Florida Amateur Golf Championship. This spirit of true sportsmanship which permeated Bopie's character was the keynote of her successful leadership as an inspiring "F" Club president". Bopie had been residing in Winter Haven on Lake Marianna for
the past 5 years being near her family and roots. She continued her
research in Lyme disease and also gave lectures and symposiums on the
subject and also remained active with Bowen Research and Development in
Lake Alfred. |
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