Longtime Albany doctor buried Tuesday
By Melinda L. Lucas
After a battle with cancer, longtime “country doctor” J.E. Mikeska died Nov. 30 at the age of 93.
A resident of Albany since 1987, he practiced medicine for 58 years, retiring in 2015 when he was 87.
Mikeska and his wife Gayle came to Albany after practicing 26 years in Clyde and at the Baird Hospital. He officed in the Shackelford County Hospital District’s clinic until shortly before the hospital closed in 1996.
Mikeska then practiced in Abilene at a minor emergency clinic for almost 10 years before establishing a practice in Breckenridge in 2007, where he continued until 2015.
“Doc” didn’t obtain his personal goal to practice until he was 90, but not because he was too feeble or unable to think clearly. Changes in Medicare and insurance requirements changed his mind for him.
Even after retirement, he continued to be active in community events such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Albany Nativity, and was a faithful cast member of the Fort Griffin Fandangle.
He and Gayle served as Fandangle parade marshals about 10 years ago, and in 2015, the Chamber named the Mikeskas as Citizens of the Year.
He was also an a dedicated member of First United Methodist Church, and for several years, he mentored students at McMurry University.
Mikeska attended and graduated from Water Valley High School, and even as a young man, he knew he wanted to help other people.
He felt the call to become a missionary and that is exactly the way he envisioned his life moving forward, but a stint in the U.S. Army redefined his quest.
After a year at San Angelo College (now Angelo State University), Mikeska enlisted in the Army for a three-year stint, serving in the Army of Occupation in Japan.
As a volunteer, he was able to pick his area of service in the Army, choosing the medical corps so he could learn a useful skill that would later serve well when he returned to civilian life and the mission field.
Little did he realize that becoming a pharmacy technician would lead to a long professional life in the medical field and a different type of service than he originally considered.
After finishing his associate degree at San Angelo, Mikeska was called back to active duty as a member of the Army Reserves, spending the next two years training recruits for Korea.
In 1952 he enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin where he finished his undergraduate degree. He attended Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, and interned at Methodist Hospital in Dallas.
In 1958 he opened his first practice in Cross Plains, but moved to Clyde three years later. After 26 years there, he came to Albany.
Over the decades, “Doc” saw many changes in the medical field. When he started practicing, an office visit was $3, and he sometimes accepted unusual items from patients who couldn’t afford to pay their bills with cash – ranging from vegetables to a horse to an old pickup.
Mikeska did get to visit Kenya in 1969 as a relief doctor for a medical missionary.
“I had always wondered up until then if I should have been a missionary,” said Mikeska in a 2015 interview, “but while I was there I realized that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.”
Graveside services were held Tuesday, Dec. 8 in the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene.
