Lowery A. Woodall, Sr., 74, a retired executive director of Forrest General Hospital and a co-founder of AAA Ambulance Service, died Saturday, March 13, 2004, at Forrest General Hospital. He was a visionary leader whose work stimulated the growth of Forrest General Hospital (FGH) to the second largest facility of its type in Mississippi.
Mr. Woodall, inducted into the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame in 2000, was widely recognized for his significant contributions to the growth and development of business in Mississippi, particularly Southeast Mississippi. He served as FGH executive director from 1962 through November 1996.
In 1969, under Mr. Woodall’s leadership, AAA Ambulance Service began the nation’s first emergency helicopter service. Now Rescue 7, named for the Highway Safety Patrol District in which it’s headquartered, remains the United State’s longest continuously operating air ambulance service, Southeast Mississippi Air Ambulance District.
Four years earlier, in 1965, Woodall had pulled together visionary community leaders in Forrest County to recognize and fill a need through combining city, county, and hospital resources to establish AAA Ambulance Service. They knew from the start that the emergency pre-hospital care and transportation service could safely take sick and injured individuals to the appropriate hospital for emergency care. Now AAA Ambulance extends on-the-ground emergency medical services (EMS) to Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Stone, and Walthall Counties — every consumer in the coverage area benefits from the highest level of licensed EMS providers available.
Mr. Woodall led the Forrest County Industrial Park Commission, the Southeastern Hospital Conference, Mississippi Hospital Association, Mississippi Commission on Hospital Care. Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Mississippi, Hattiesburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Forrest County Industrial Board, Hattiesburg Rotary Club, Mississippi Heart Fund, and the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation. He was also on the boards of the Bank of Mississippi (now Bancorp South), Blue Bonnet Life Insurance Company, and HealthCare Providers. Civic and community involvement included work with the Pine Bet Council of the Boy Scouts of America, USM Big Gold Club, and the William Carey College Century Club. A member of First Baptist Church, he was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Mr. Woodall was preceded in death by his first wife, Margaret Woodall.
Survivors include his widow, Pat Woodall of Hattiesburg; son, Lowery Woodall, Jr., of Mary Esther, Fla.; two step sons, Jerry Ligon of Boca Raton, Fla.; and Joe Ligon of Sanibel Island, Fla.; two daughters, Linda Carol Woodall of Petal and Margaret Michelle Bacon of Kingsport, Tenn.; four sisters, Margaret Wilkerson of Seattle, Wash., Alice (Dolly) Allen of Sacramento, Calif., Mabel McCraw of Sacramento, Calif., and Winnie Allen of Winter Park, Fla.; one brother, R.E. Woodall of Bogue Chitto; and seven grandchildren.
About AAA Ambulance Service: AAA Ambulance Service, founded in 1965, created one of the first licensed emergency medical services providers in Mississippi. The community, tax-supported nonprofit organization’s mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce trauma-related personal anguish and health care costs. For more information, visit http://www.aaaambulance.net.
Contact: Christy M. Joy
PO Box 17889
Hattiesburg, MS 39404
207 South. 28th Ave.
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
(601) 264-0175 SND.Email
