John Fields

FIELDS, John Pershing , age 85 , of Nashville was born in Louisville, Kentucky on August 14, 1932 and died July 22, 2018. His parents, Madge Farrar Fields and Robert Gribble Fields; his brother Robert Lee Fields; and his wife, Melinda Wikle Fields, preceded him in death as did his first wife, Polly Stevens Fields.Sons Matthew Thornton Fields, Nashville, and Robert Gribble Fields II of Fairfax, Virginia and granddaughter, Bailey Adalaide Fields, whom John adored, survive him. Stepdaughter Melinda Weisiger Cordaro of Nashville, and stepsons, John Weisiger (Polly) of Phoenix, Arizona and Will Weisiger of Nashville also survive him.John attended Stokes and Burton elementary schools, Hillsboro High School and was graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1954 where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduating from Vanderbilt University Medical School in 1957, he completed a pediatric residency at the University of California in San Francisco, and returned to Vanderbilt as Chief Resident in Pediatrics under Dr. Amos Christie.John entered private practice in 1960 and formed the Green Hills Children's Clinic which is serving the Children's of Nashville to this day under the present name Nashville Pediatrics. During his career he was affiliated with St. Thomas Hospital and served as Chief of Pediatric service at Baptist and Centennial. He was a clinical professor of pediatrics and was active in the teaching program at Vanderbilt Hospital for many years. He was proud to be the recipient of the James C Overall award for excellence in teaching at Vanderbilt Children's. After retiring from private practice, John soon returned to medicine and for 10 years was a medical consultant for the Social Security Agency assessing disability claims.John's love of history, geography and stamp collecting inspired him to see as much of the world as possible. In addition to trips with his Sigma Chi group and others to places such as Antarctica, Europe and Africa, for many years he made yearly trips to the Bahamas, sailing, scuba diving and fishing. He made numerous sailing trips in the Caribbean with his good friend, Dr. Bill Doak. Not to be forgotten was his rediscovered love for billiards which he enjoyed with his many friends at Richland Place.Very special thanks to Bernice Overton for many, many years as housekeeper and caregiver for the Fields and Wikle families.Memorial service at Belle Meade Methodist Church (Dr. Sharon Moore Caldwell, officiating. ) Honorary Pallbearers: Dr. Nancy Beveridge, Richard Bird, Jack Burch, Dr. Eric Chazen, Ed Davies, Dr. Bill Doak, Dr. Joe Michael Edwards, Doug Fisher, Ken McDonald, Martin F. McNamara III, Richard Porter, Ken Roberts and Dr. Robert A. Sewell.Visitation will be held on July 28th from 10am-11am with service afterwards at Belle Meade United Methodist Church, Nashville Tn. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the charity of your choice.