In Sept. 27 Issue
Russell County News
By David Davenport
Dr. Joe T. Pettey, July 1952,  arrived in Russell County, placed his name outside a small office and served this county in an unforgettable way for over forty years.

Medicine and the caring of his friends and neighbors, that was his life. He traveled from home to home and served one after another and was know as a caring, concerned and giving individual.

He had a way of lowering his head and peering over his glasses while rendering some humorous story or remark which left everyone with a chuckle and a much happier feeling as they left his presence.

While medicine was his life, his great pleasures of life were his family, his days spent in the woods or on the river and creek banks and his giving. Nothing seemed to please him more than placing gifts in the hands of his friends. Whether it was a serious gift or one of pure foolishness, that was Joe T. Pettey.

The street leading to the Russell County Hospital carries the name of Dr. Joe T. Pettey. An appropriate name as Pettey was most instrumental in working with other physicians and community leaders to obtain a Certificate of Need for the Russell County Hospital.

Dr. Pettey  has left a vacancy in Russell County that can never be and has not been replaced. Not simply in the medical community but as a caring neighbor and friend.

He and his wife, Arlene, have two children, Jim Pettey and Marylyn Pettey.

Dr. Jim Pettey, an Orthopedic Surgeon,  has recently retired as a Colonel in the U. S. Air Force.  He and his wife Katy and their three children, Alex, Brian and Mark, live in Portsmouth, Ohio

Daughter Marylyn Pettey has returned to Russell County following her retirement from the Louisville Metro Police.

Dr. Joe T. Pettey died September 30, 1995.