A Step Back in Time
By Bobbie Sue Shelton

Physicians of the Past - Part 2

Dr. Jay with one of his young patients

Dr. Jay and Lorie Brent - 1980

Dr. Carl Rowntree, the local physician in Eagleville, moved to Knoxville in 1967 and left Eagleville without a physician. In 1979 Fred Hobbs, mayor of Eagleville, was instrumental with securing Dr. Lelan Milam better known as Dr. “Jay”, a physician assistant, as Eagleville’s new physician. Due to a lot of local and state obstacles, Dr. Jay didn’t open the Eagleville Medical Clinic until June 1980. He soon hired Lori Milnar Brent to help him in the office. Another early employee was Rita Eley Ralston and at this time an office visits cost $8.00. Marvin Hayes, a local banker, owned the medical clinic building, located next to Joyce Jones’ Beauty Shop. This building is presently a rental apartment. Dr. Jay shared the clinic with a dentist, Lee Palmer, who had his office in the back of the clinic.

Dr. Jay and Rita Milam

Marvin Hayes sold the clinic to someone in Nashville and he in turn sold it to Dr. Lee Palmer. Dr. Jay was not only the physician, but also a handyman and his own janitor, making repairs and cleaning the building to save money. The clinic received a small amount of funds from the State of Tennessee but that funding was soon discontinued. The city of Eagleville contributed bookkeeping services to the clinic. In time, Dr. Palmer asked for a large increase in rent, so Dr. Jay, along with his supervising physicians, Dr. George Smith and Dr. Dennis Carter did not feel the clinic could afford this increase and started looking around for a new clinic building. In 1984 they secured some land and an office building from Roy Holt on the south end of Eagleville. The building was remodeled, rooms added on and was the new home of the Eagleville Medical Clinic. For several years Dr. William Smith, an optometrists from Murfreesboro shared office space with the medical clinic and at the present Dr. Rena R. Cron and the Eagleville Eye Clinic is sharing this building, which is still owned by Drs. Smith and Carter.
Dr. Jay was born in West Virginia in 1938. He has 5 children: Marsha, Mark, Michael, Matthew and Martin. After coming to Eagleville Dr. Milam soon had a nickname, Dr. Jay, given to him by one of his patients. He is probably known by more people as Dr. Jay than by his given name Lelan Milam. In 1985 he was losing one of his employees and needed a replacement. In 1985 he hired Rita Locke Redden, daughter of John Cooper and Ella Rowland Locke from the Rover Community. Rita, not only became his employee but in 1987 she also became his wife. Rita has 2 children, Cathy and Thomas Redden. Dr. Jay and Rita retired in June 2001 and lives in Rover, Bedford County, Tennessee.

Dr. Frank Warren

In June 2001 Frank Warren, a physician assistant certified, replaced Dr. Jay. Dr. Warren grew up in Lincoln County, Tennessee and came to Murfreesboro to attend MTSU. He graduated from Trevecca College in 1997 and received his Masters Degree in 1998 from the University of Nebraska. He worked with Dr. Steven Payne MD in Murfreesboro from 1997 until 2001 at which time he came to Eagleville to replace Dr. Jay. He is a member and the in-coming president of the Tennessee Academy of Physician Assistants. Dr. Warren and his wife, Matha, live on a farm in Bradyville. Matha Warren is a veterinarian and operates Warren Animal Hospital on Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro.

Dr. Warren, Gloria & Sherri

Dr. Frank Warren and his very friendly co-workers, Gloria Llorens and Sherri Womble is certainly an asset to our Community. They see patients of all ages, from the very young to their late nineties, who travel from Smyrna, Columbia, Nashville, Murfreesboro and Cookville as well as Eagleville and near by communities.