John Clifton Goudelock

Dr. John Clifton Goudelock of Myrtle passed away on July 25th due to complications related to COVID-19. He was born July 22, 1943 in Bruce, Mississippi to Dr. Leander and Burma Miller Goudelock. He graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1967. In July of 1968, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Medical Corps at the rank of Captain. Dr. Goudelock was immediately thrust into the chaos of South Vietnam where he was forced to teach himself advanced surgical techniques. Many times, his patients were young children and simple, rural farmers whose bodies had been mutilated and mangled by weapons of modern warfare and in a country where modern medicine and medical techniques simply did not exist. He used innovative procedures that allowed his patients to continue a productive life oftentimes after catastrophic bodily injuries. His primary goal was to give them the capacity to capably continue their daily lives. He returned from the war to do his surgical residency in Greenville, South Carolina and went on to continue his specialization in neurosurgery. The humanitarian calling to help mankind brought him back to Mississippi. He practiced medicine in Mississippi, Beverly Hills, California and Texas. After his retirement, to continue his passion in serving others he worked tirelessly for many years to establish at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine an endowment with the purpose of establishing a hand surgery center.
In spite of his many accomplishments, John was a man of little pretense and was not one to put on airs. Those who knew him best were familiar with his wit and downright devilish antics. Whether he was letting the dogs lick his mother’s fine china clean or putting a snakeskin under the crack beneath the door of the tenant house across the road (headed in not out by the way). His shenanigans, the likes of which will never be seen again and never be forgotten.
Unfortunately, very few people knew the soft tender-hearted side of John. He reserved his tenderness for a very select few. If you were lucky enough to find yourself within this group, you know you were blessed.
He is survived by his three children, Robert Goudelock (Khan), Laura Dunnam (Scott), and Margaret Goudelock, and his wife Mary. He was “Grandaddy” to Bryan, Miller, and Elise Dunnam, Gunner and Thien An Goudelock, and Lydia and Carys Napier. He is also survived by his sister Ann Vance and brother Jim Goudelock.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the John C. Goudelock Hand Surgery Center Endowment, University of Mississippi Foundation P.O. Box 249 38677.