2014 Outstanding Alumnus Award Winner
Growing up in Cullman, Alabama, Dr. James Link’s hero and role model was Gene Autry, the singing cowboy. He later realized that he was a modern day knight who went about righting wrongs and was true and courageous.
A chronic allergy sufferer as a child, Dr. Link spent a fair amount of time in a physician’s office. He noticed that people always left the doctor’s office looking less distressed than when they had entered. The doctor and nurse who were so friendly, reassuring, and feet tall in his eyes became his new heroes. The decision was made. Young James Link was on the path to becoming a doctor.
Dr. Link graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1961, and he then completed a rotating internship at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis and an additional two-year pediatrics residency at Baptist in 1964.
After moving to Florence, Alabama, Dr. Link joined another pediatrician at the Infants’ and Children’s Clinic, P.C. set about caring for three generations of patients. In fact, he calls caring for these children his greatest accomplishment. “Seeing second and third generation patients bring their children and their children’s children to me speaks of trust,” Link said.
During his career, Dr. Link served as the Chief of Pediatrics and the President of the Medical staff at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence. He also served as a member of the Credential Committee for several years. While most think about slowing down as they near retirement, in 1997 Dr. Link took on the task of helping to create the Primary Care Network Advisory Committee of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Alabama, and served as the first chairman.
Dr. Link has always used the phrase “love your neighbor as yourself” as the moral compass in his life. His 34 years of care and love for the young people of Florence left an indelible mark on the community. In retirement, Dr. Link continues to touch lives of his “neighbors” by volunteering in the community. He has volunteered at the Help Center for more than 10 years. His work includes helping low-incoming get food, clothing and other services.
Dr. Link and his wife Dorothy have been married for more than 50 years and have two daughters, Melissa and Lauren, and four grandchildren. They hope to check one significant item off their bucket list one day—spending Lent and Easter in the southern hemisphere. He explained that instead of experiencing the bloom of spring you witness the browning of grass and impact of autumn. “One must face the full impact of Good Friday and the cross,” Link said.
The people of Florence might think of Dr. James Link as a modern day Gene Autry. Though he prefers to sing Chet Atkins tunes, Dr. Link possesses the very qualities he admired in Autry as a young boy, and he uses them to care for and serve his community.
What a wonderful legacy for Dr. Link, for Florence, Alabama, and for his fellow University of Tennessee College of Medicine alumni.
View Past Medicine Award Winners