John Matthews, MD, was born and reared in Charleston, West Virginia, and graduated from medical school at West Virginia University. After completing one year as a medical intern, one year as a surgical intern, and three years as surgical resident at Vanderbilt University Hospital, he became Chief Resident in Surgery at Vanderbilt and was honored with the Harwell Wilson Award for “Excellence as Surgical Resident.” He entered training at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where he became Chief Resident in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
After practicing Cardiothoracic Surgery in Newport News, Virginia, he moved to West Tennessee where he practiced CT surgery for almost thirty years. He is married to Joy and they have two grown children, Elizabeth and Daniel. Shortly prior to retirement from surgical practice in 2010, he was honored by the employees of Jackson Madison County General Hospital with the Guest Excellence Doctor of the Year Award.