James R. Stilwell Jr., MD

James R. Stilwell Jr., MD, of Huntsville, Alabama, a plastic surgeon, died Feb. 4, 2026, at age 96 at his home in Huntsville. This obituary is written by him so that all mistakes are his (as usual)!

He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on Aug. 27, 1929, to J.R. Stilwell Sr. and Edna Mae Stilwell. His parents predeceased him, as did a sister; a brother, Charles; and stepson Steven Clark.

He is survived by his brother, John Q. Stilwell, PhD, of Dallas, Texas; three children, James R. Stillwell III, David Reed Stilwell and Amy Lynn O’Callaghan; five grandchildren, Jordyn Stilwell; Isaac and Lucas Stilwell; and Matthew and Maize O’Callaghan; one niece, Laura Stilwell; and, of course, by his previous and beloved wife and her two surviving children, Christopher Clark (Jen) and Phillip Clark (Christina), granddaughter Franklin Beatrice Dorton-Clark, and by a whole bunch of in-laws, all of whom are loved dearly.

James (Jim) was educated mostly in South Carolina, except for plastic surgery, which he studied in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at St. Joseph’s Hospital under Dr. Reed Dingman and the University of Michigan. He had many other mentors — way too many to name — but they know who they are. He practiced in Denver; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Tacoma, Washington; Florence, Alabama; and Huntsville, Alabama, and took care of more than 80,000 patients. Thanks for being there for him.

Visitation will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at St. Michael’s Church in St. Florian, Alabama. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9, at the same location. Burial will follow at St. Michael’s Cemetery, with a reception to follow.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Elkins Funeral Home.