In a corner pharmacy on Main Street and Woodruff Avenue, a young boy stood behind the cash register, watching his father fill prescriptions in the middle of the night for sick children. 

• That boy was Lee Thigpen, who would grow up to become one of Crestview’s most dedicated physicians, serving his hometown for four decades before his retirement this week.

“I think growing up in a home where I saw what people needed and my dad filling prescriptions for sick children in the middle of the night… I think that influenced me as much as anything else,” Dr. Thigpen reflects on his path to medicine.

From City Pharmacy to Crestview Medical Clinic

Born and raised in Crestview, Dr. Thigpen’s roots run deep in the community. His father owned City Pharmacy, a fixture on Main Street where young Lee worked from the moment he could reach the cash register. 

After graduating from Crestview High School, he attended the University of Florida for his undergraduate and medical degrees, followed by a residency at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Despite opportunities to practice elsewhere, Dr. Thigpen’s heart pulled him back to his hometown in 1985. 

• “I told my wife that we have to come home,” he recalls. It was a decision that would prove profoundly meaningful both professionally and personally, as his father was diagnosed with cancer shortly after his return. “I was here for him… I never regret that decision. Not for one second.”

Together with Drs. George Barrow, David and Wayne Campbell, he founded Crestview Medical Clinic, taking over patients from physicians who had been practicing in the area since 1958 – creating a continuous chain of medical care stretching back to Crestview’s earliest days of formal healthcare.

Building Healthcare From the Ground Up

In 1985, healthcare in Crestview looked vastly different than it does today. Dr. Thigpen arrived with little more than a beeper from the hospital administrator. With no established patient base or financial support, he worked emergency room shifts to make ends meet while building his practice – starting with nothing more than a folding table in an unfinished office building.

“There was nothing like it is now. A lot of times, new doctors come and they give them a stipend and recruit and all that. All I got was a beeper,” he says. “I came in and didn’t owe anybody anything. I was doing it on my own.”

The early days brought stark reminders of the community’s limited healthcare resources. Dr. Thigpen recalls a tragic Thanksgiving night accident when there were no trauma centers or medical helicopters available – just local physicians doing their best with what they had. It was a far cry from the advanced services available in Crestview today.

Generations of Care

Perhaps nothing illustrates Dr. Thigpen’s impact better than the fact that he has treated five generations of some Crestview families – from great-grandparents to their great-grandchildren. He’s watched children he once treated grow up to become nurses who now care for others in the community.

• “It’s the hardest thing to leave,” Dr. Thigpen says of these multi-generational relationships. “That’s my extended family. A lot of those people, I watched them grow in their careers, and it’s hard. It’s really hard.”

In the earlier years of his career, Dr. Thigpen would see patients in the office, hospital, and nursing home – providing continuous care throughout their health journey. “You really get to know them when you see them all the way through,” he explains, noting that this comprehensive approach has largely disappeared from modern medical practice.

The Heart of Community Medicine

Dr. Thigpen’s commitment to Crestview extends far beyond individual patient care. He has been a persistent advocate for expanding medical services in the area, helping to develop the medical community off South Ferdon, including the four-story Physicians Medical Plaza and Crescent Park assisted living facility.

“I’ve always felt that we need to not travel out of town to get what we need,” he says. “I’ve been pushing that all my life.”

His advocacy has helped bring critical services to Crestview that once required long and potentially life-threatening trips to other cities. Where cardiac patients once had to be transported to Pensacola for treatment while precious time ticked away, Crestview now offers interventional cardiology services that save lives and heart muscle. “That kind of stuff is huge,” he notes.

Beyond the Stethoscope

While his professional achievements are impressive, Dr. Thigpen’s connection to the community runs deeper. His wife Cathy, daughter of longtime Okaloosa Tax Collector Joseph ‘Buck’ Stokes, served 16 years on the school board. Together, they have been integral parts of Crestview’s civic life.

• “When you live in the community and you raise your children in school and you’re a part of the community, you see what people need,” Dr. Thigpen explains. “We are there to serve the community because the community has been very good to us. And I wouldn’t want to have been anywhere else in the world.”

The Human Side of Medicine

When asked about memorable patient moments, Dr. Thigpen shares a deeply personal story. After undergoing treatment for prostate cancer about 12 years ago, he experienced something that still moves him to tears: “I had patients who would come in and say, ‘Dr. Thigpen, I’ve been praying for you and your recovery.'”

He adds, “When you have that kind of respect and desire from patients, that still makes me teary when I think about it.”

His other defining memory comes from the COVID-19 pandemic, when he witnessed healthcare workers facing unprecedented challenges. “When I saw the level of dedication from our doctors, nurses and staff during that time, it made me the proudest to be in this profession.”

A Legacy of Service

As Dr. Thigpen begins his well-earned retirement – with plans to travel the Great Loop waterway with his wife on their boat – he leaves behind a community forever changed by his dedication.

• When asked how he would like to be remembered by the Crestview community, his answer is simple but profound: “That Crestview is a better place because I was there.”

For the countless patients whose lives he’s touched over four decades, there can be no doubt that Dr. Thigpen has more than fulfilled that wish. From a boy watching his father dispense medicine at City Pharmacy to a physician who helped transform healthcare in his hometown, his journey embodies the best of community medicine – care provided not just with skill, but with heart.

His advice to young doctors considering practice in smaller communities like Crestview reflects his own approach to medicine: “It’s a good living, but don’t do it for the money. Do it for the satisfaction of taking care of people that are grateful, and the relationship building that you get.”