IN REMEMBRANCE
In Remembrance
ANTOINETTE “TONI”
LINVILLE
A Legacy of Compassionate Service
A
ntoinette “Toni” Linville died May 21, 2018, leaving
an admirable legacy of compassionate service through
the Greater Louisville Medical Society (GLMS; then
Jefferson County Medical Society) and through many
of her other endeavors. As a nurse, physician’s spouse
and health care leader, she played a key role in the founding of the
two greatest service legacies of GLMS: Supplies Over Seas and The
Healing Place.
Toni was the first Executive Director of Supplies Over Seas
(SOS) in 1993, working with founder Norton Waterman, MD, in
a small basement office of GLMS headquarters in the Old Medical
School Building. The strong beginning she engineered was essential
to the survival and ultimate evolution of SOS into the nationally
acclaimed medical supplies recovery organization it has become.
Now, SOS regularly serves medical missions throughout the world
with valuable recycled supplies and equipment that are hand-carried
by individuals on medical missions, shipped on airborne pallets,
or shipped as boxcar-sized sea containers. Since 1993, over 1.5
million pounds of equipment and supplies have been sent to over
91 countries and kept from local landfills. Originally sponsored
by GLMS, the program now thrives independently under Denise
Sears, the current Executive Director.
Another of Toni’s endeavors, The Healing Place (THP), also
became a great contribution of GLMS to our community. THP
began as a homeless shelter called the Morgan Center, which was
transformed by the vision of Will Ward, MD, supported by his
medical colleagues including Kenneth Peters, MD, and a dedicated
professional staff, including Jay Davidson. Toni Linville chaired many
fundraising events for the Morgan Center and was a key supporter
of the initial JCMS Outreach Program, which became THP. THP
gathered international acclaim based on its peer-mentored recovery
program, which has an admirable record of 75 percent sobriety at
one year for alcoholics and opiate addicts who complete the pro-
gram. Currently, a greatly improved, expanded men’s campus is
underway to enhance THP’s mission. THP is led by Jay Davidson,
Chairman, and Karen Hascal, President, with many supporting
GLMS physicians.
Toni Linville’s nursing degree and subsequent public health and
graduate certificates were from the University of Minnesota School
of Medicine and she completed post-graduate studies in Nursing
Administration at Columbia University in Duluth, Minn. She be-
came a captain in the US Army Nursing Corps and served in Japan
before returning to teach Public Health at major US universities.
She came to Louisville to supervise the American Red Cross Blood
Services program as well as becoming Director of Nursing for the
Louisville American Red Cross. Her Public Health and Blood Ser-
vices expertise were uniquely valuable when the AIDS epidemic of
the 1980’s began. She also served on the Jefferson County Board of
Health and on the JCMS Auxiliary. Here, she met her husband, Dr.
James T. Linville, and together they raised a happy and productive
family. James’ death preceded Toni’s. They are survived by five
children and seven grandchildren.
Antoinette “Toni” Linville’s remarkable record of medical ser-
vice and compassion will live on through the great organizations
she served, the many who continue to benefit from them, and all
those she inspired to open their hearts to those in need here and
around the world.
- Gordon R. Tobin, MD
While Antoinette Linville was not a member of GLMS, Dr. Tobin wished to write this to honor her contributions to the Louisville medical community.
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE