- Date Of Birth: February 7, 1942
- Date Of Death: March 30, 2021
- State: Alabama
Joseph Anthony Fernandez, M. D. F.A.C.S., of Enterprise passed away of a long illness on March 30, 2021 in the arms of his wife and surrounded by family.
A Man’s life is bounded by two dates – his birth and his death. The dash between contain the myriad dates and details of a life lived. If viewed as the covers of a book, the number of chapters and pages will vary, with some having few pages, and others many chapters. Dr. Fernandez’ life contained many pages and many chapters, touching thousands of lives through his 79 years on earth.
Dr. Fernandez was born an American citizen abroad to Jose Maria Fernandez and Antonia Fernandez, in El Ferrol, Spain on February 7, 1942, but the family was separated by World War II and was not reunited until 1951 when he and his mother arrived in New York City. Growing up on Staten Island, he graduated from St. Peters High School for Boys and attended for one year the City College of New York where he played in the first NCAA Soccer Semi-Finals in 1958. Accepting a four-year Naval ROTC Scholarship, he travelled to the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque where he graduated and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1964.
Dr. Fernandez was designated Naval Aviator in 1966 after attending flight school and initially flew the UH-34 “Sea Horse” helicopter and the transitioned to the CH-46 “Sea Knight.” During this time, he sered aboard the U.S.S. Okinawa in the Caribbean Sea and flew humanitarian rescue missions in the aftermath of Hurricane Inez in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Returning from the Caribbean, he served in the Republic of Vietnam from April 1967 – May 1968 during which time he proudly served as a rotary wing aviator in the HMM-361 “Flying Tigers” and HMM-362 “Archie’s Angels” helicopter squadrons, aboard the U.S.S. Okinawa once again as a member of the Afloat Landing Forces at Khe Sahn and many other named operations. On the ground, he served with the 3rd Bn, 5th Marines Regiment as the Air Liaison Officer during the Tet Offensive.
On return from Vietnam he transitioned to jet aircraft and became a jet flight instructor a NAS Meridian, Mississippi. On leaving the Marine Corps in 1970, he flew Huey helicopters for the Mississippi National Guard as he attended medical school at the University of Mississippi Medical School in Jackson. On graduation he returned to active military duty as a flight surgeon for the United States Navy before completing a residency in urology at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State. Retiring from the Navy in 1986 he became the Chief of Urology at the Asheville Veterans Administration Medical Center in North Carolina.
Dr.
He retired from medical practice in 2007 but remained a member of the Coffee and Dale County Medical Associations.
Locally, he was a large, if anonymous benefactor for several charities and as a member of St. John’s Parish in Enterprise, attained the rank of 4th Degree in the Knights of Columbus. He was also the physician assisting thousands of residents of the Wiregrass. He was known to all as a kind and generous man. Was a devoted husband and father and cherished by his family.
He is survived by his wife, Ruby Franklin Fernandez (formerly of Jay, FL); his two sons Joseph Fernandez (Kimberlee) of Enterprise, AL and John Fernandez of Asheville, NC. He has five granddaughters, Skyler Henley (Christian), Raven Brock (Kyle), Jolee-Ann, Isabella, and Elizabeth Fernandez and two great-grandsons, Leo Henley and Bear Brock.
The family would like to extend their gratitude to Father Zachary Greenwell, Dr. Rick Harrelson and Covenant Hospice, Dr.
