August 31, 1942 – July 23, 2014
Major Frank B. McCune Jr., MD, affectionately known as “Doc,” was born August 31, 1942 in Jackson, to the late Frank B. McCune Sr. and Eva Jones McCune.
He was the eldest of five children born into this union.
McCune graduated from Coahoma Agricultural High School in Clarksdale, Miss. at the age of 16 and later attended Jackson State University and Tougaloo College.
He attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. He went on to complete his surgical residency at G.W. Hubbard Hospital. He then attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla. for his master’s in business administration.
McCune used his acquired education in health care and business to open two licensed home health agencies, five rural health clinics, and one outpatient surgery center. His love and commitment to the advancement of his community began early during the Civil Rights era.
McCune served as a combat surgeon in the first Persian Gulf War receiving the U.S. Army Accommodation Medal and the 332 Medical Brigade Certificate of Achievement for Meritorious Service during Operation Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and Desert Saber.
He served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Education at Jackson State University and was the executive producer of the Prosperity “Culture of Health” show on Cable Channel 98 in Jackson. He also hosted the “Prosperity, The Culture of Health Show” on WMPR Radio 90.1 FM.
His guests have included both national and international scholars as well as lay persons with vested interests in their communities.
In 1994, McCune served as a member of the United Front which is a management group formed by Representative Jim Evans along with Judge Spencer Nash.
The group is responsible for successfully working with and managing Chris Smith of the Wild Life Society, a hip hop group which focused on addressing some of the social causes of maladaptive behavior within the African-American culture.
This was followed by the release of the second album designed to stress the existence and ill effect of health disparity, called “Transition.”
On December 31, 1966, Major McCune married Cheryl Murray. Born into this union were sons Frank McCune III and Zanah McCune.
He later married Ellen Taylor-McCune on February 5, 1991. In this union were born Kamaria Jannát Taylor-McCune and Tamara Reneé Brown (stepdaughter).
Spirituality proved to be a matter of utmost significance to McCune. Aside from his love for God, he also had an unwavering love for helping others. He worked tirelessly throughout the community serving those who have grown to know and love him over the years.
His favorite pastimes included reading and listening to music – ranging from jazz to hip hop to old school rap. As a self-proclaimed “godfather,” McCune was an avid lover of all things “mafia related” and made family viewings of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” a regular holiday occurrence.
McCune was called to glory by our Lord on July 23, 2014 in Franklin, Tenn. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Frank Sr. and Eva Jones McCune and his younger brother, Wallace Jones McCune.
McCune leaves to cherish his memory: his loving and devoted wife of 23 years, Ellen; sons, Frank McCune III (Kimberley) of Nashville, Tenn., and Zanah McCune of Atlanta, Ga.; daughter, Kamaria Jannát Taylor-McCune of Bowie, Md.; stepdaughter, Tamara Reneé Brown of Bowie, Md.; sisters, Gloria McCune Drain (Kenny) of Jackson, Miss. and Brenda Brown (Jimmy) of Atlanta, Ga.; his brother, Edmundo (Doreen) McCune of Biloxi, Miss.; and his four grandchildren.
He was memorialized July 31, 2014 in Woodworth Chapel at Tougaloo College.
