Nana would be proud: Ascent to AMA presidency completes an enduring dream

When Yank D. Coble Jr., MD, takes office next month, he will fulfill a lifelong quest inspired by his grandmother.

By Bonnie Booth, AMNews staff. May 27, 2002.

When Yank D. Coble, Jr., MD, becomes the American Medical Association's 157th president June 19, he will be surrounded by family, friends and colleagues.

But the person most responsible for his becoming a physician will be missing. She died when he was in high school. Yet even after all these years, when Dr. Coble speaks of his grandmother, his voice takes on that reverence we reserve for speaking of those we most respect and admire.

"For as long as I can remember, I was told by my grandmother that I should be a doctor," said Dr. Coble, 64. "I've watched a lot of people struggle with that decision, but I never wanted to be anything else."

For better or worse, grandmothers often leave lasting marks on their grandchildren, and Dr. Coble's was obviously no exception. He remembers her vividly, 50 years after her death, noting he can still hear her proclaiming "idle hands are the devil's workshop."

Nana Anderson lived in (and worked out of) an apartment in Burlington, N.C., Coble's hometown. She supported herself by sewing the toes into pairs of socks. Hosiery piece work was a common form of employment in 1940s Burlington, the home of the textile powerhouse Burlington Industries.

Like many of her generation, Anderson never attended high school or college but was insistent that her grandchildren should. It was the premium she placed on education that led her to encourage her grandson to become a doctor.

"I never saw her scowl or frown or be unhappy," said Dr. Coble, who as a child spent weekends with his grandmother. "She always had a positive attitude." [...]