Thomas Bertelle Fletcher, Jr., M.D., 98, passed away at home in Tallahassee on November 2, 2016. Dr. Bert was born on November 25, 1917, in Greensboro, Florida, to Thomas Bertelle Fletcher and Mary Elvira Hentz Fletcher, and was the third of eight children.As a young man, Dr. Bert visited with his Uncles, Eddie Fletcher, a dentist, and Wells Fletcher, a medical doctor, and found that he preferred the daily life in their practices to the work his father had him doing on the family farm. He set his sights on becoming a doctor and graduated from the University of Florida with his BS in 1939, and from medical school at Emory University in 1943. Following graduation, he did his residency at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Ga.While a resident there, he supervised his brother John, his sister Helen, and his brother-in-law Sambo as medical students. Decades later, tales of that experience produced eye rolling, and gentle chuckles as he described what a wild experience that had been.He married his high school sweetheart, Mavis Emeline Clark, on May 23, 1943. At the end of his residency, he joined the Army, and they moved to Pasadena, CA where he served two years with the Army Medical Corps.At the end of World War II, Dr. Bert chose Tallahassee over Orlando and Jacksonville as the place he wanted to establish his practice. Tallahassee was only 35 miles from home, and while he preferred doctoring to farming, the family and community where he had grown up were deeply important to him.Dr. Bert established one of the first Obstetrics and Gynecology practice in Tallahassee in 1948, and when he arrived in town, there were only 17 other doctors in the area. He practiced with his partner George Lewis, MD until his retirement in 1989. He served on the medical staff first at Dale Mabry Hospital, and then on staff at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Capital Regional Medical Center. He was president of the Florida OB-GYN society, and was the 13th president of the medical staff at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He was also a director of the original Board of the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Foundation.Dr. Bert enjoyed an active part in the community in Tallahassee, and was a member of First Baptist Church in Tallahassee, the Town Club, the Exchange Club, the Cotillion Club, and the Colonels Club. He was also devoted to his golf game. A member of Capital City Country Club for 68 years, he was still regularly shooting less than his age earlier this year. In 2013, at the age of 95, his golf index was better than most of the golfers in the country. He was mostly self-taught, not having picked up the game until middle-age, and his devotion to playing, no matter the weather, is fondly remembered by his many friends. He was a kind, sweet, and giving man, with a positive and happy outlook on life. He loved delivering babies, and participating in the joy that a new life brings to a family and to the world.He was a stalwart uncle to his many nieces and nephews, always quietly offering support and help with any crisis, and a bringing a quick smile and a laugh to any gathering.Dr. Bert is survived by his daughter, Nancy Fletcher Browne; step-daughters, Lettie Jane Cleveland (Mike) and Nancy Pruitt; brother, Max Fletcher, Sr. and legions of dearly loved nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Bertelle Fletcher and Mary Elvira Hentz Fletcher; his first wife, Mavis Clark Fletcher; his second wife, Jane Pruitt Fletcher; son-in-law Mark Browne; brothers, Edward Fletcher, Hal Fletcher, Howard Fletcher and John Fletcher, M.D.; sisters, Louise Fletcher Eyster and Helen Fletcher Sams, M.D.; and "Outlaws", Betty Fellows Fletcher, Frances Suber Fletcher, Jean Gard Fletcher, Marian Watson Fletcher, Doris Stewart Fletcher, Katherine McFarlin Fletcher, Wesley Eyster, and Ferrol Sams, Jr.Services will be on Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Tallahassee, with a Celebration of Life reception at Goodwood Plantation for family and friends following the service.The family wishes to thank Dennis Dubose, Terica Lynn & Creshanda Rollison for the loving care they provided. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Foundation and Big Bend Hospice.