John Holbrook Mohr

Dr. John Holbrook Mohr, a respected and beloved optometrist who worked on behalf of numerous civic and business organizations in Mississippi, passed away September 19, 2024. He was 95. John is best known as “Doc,” the founder of Mohr Vision Center in Pearl. He is most loved for his kindness, wisdom and sense of humor.

More than anything, John loved his family. He loved to laugh. Pranks and jokes brought him joy. He also loved history and made sure family vacations included stops at museums or historic sites. He took thousands of pictures of his children and grandchildren at family gatherings and vacations, or just doing simple activities around their longtime home just south of Brandon. He was fond of sending handwritten letters along with newspaper clippings that he thought would interest his friends and relatives. For a time, he raised crops and cattle, teaching his children the value of hard work.

He liked motorcycles and boats, but his greatest passion was flying and sharing those experiences with others. He owned several small airplanes over his lifetime, from a Stearman, a vintage military trainer, to a Steen Skybolt, an aerobatic biplane. His favorite was a Cessna 180, which he flew across North America, from Punta Chivito, Mexico, to Key West, Florida. He would sometimes land on uninhabited islands in the Gulf of Mexico to go fishing and camping.

John wasn’t an instructor, but when he introduced people to the basics of flying, he would loudly implore them to “get on those rudders,” which are critical in steering and turning an airplane. Those words became an adage for life. If things aren’t going as planned, “get on those rudders” and steer life in a different direction.

John was born in Connersville, Indiana, on December 11, 1928, and later moved to Jackson, Mississippi, when his father, Earl S. Mohr, took a job with the US Department of Agriculture. He and his older brother, the late Lewis S. Mohr, and younger sister, Priscilla Mohr Kinley, were raised by their mother, Eva Pearl Thompson, a stenographer who had worked for the War Department in Washington DC during World War I, and later for a lawyer in Jackson. 

When he was a child, John’s family struggled through the Great Depression. But he was not bitter. The difficulties drove him to build a better life for the people he loved. John joined the Army when he was 17 and was deployed to the Philippines shortly after World War II. After his military service, he attended Hinds Community College and Millsaps College in Jackson, then worked various jobs before using the GI Bill to attend the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating in 1961. From there, his accomplishments were many.

When he opened his optometry practice in 1961, Pearl was an unincorporated area of Rankin County, and he was a leader of the initiative to incorporate the city. He was remembered as a founding father of Pearl and given a lifetime achievement award in 2018 on the 45th anniversary of the city’s incorporation.

Throughout his life, John served on the board of numerous civic-minded organizations. He was president of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District, responsible for protecting the capital city from flooding from the nearby Pearl River. He was elected to the Rankin County Election Commission and served as president of the Mississippi Board of Optometry and the Rankin County Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the board of the Rankin County Bank and volunteered for other organizations such as the Rotary Club, where his work included taking his children to a local nursing home to deliver Christmas gifts. He was generous with his time and money, often discreetly paying a restaurant tab or other bills for his patients. He sometimes provided free services when people couldn’t afford an eye exam or glasses. He was fond of sayings like “be a good citizen” and “make yourself useful.”

When he retired in 2019 at the age of 90, a congratulatory note from Mississippi’s governor said John was the second oldest practicing optometrist in the country. He worked so long because he said it kept him sharp and he cared deeply about his patients. They loved him, too. When a local magazine asked his secret to success, John said: “I’m a throwback. I operate the way doctors used to practice.”

John was married to Elizabeth “Betty” Torrence Mohr for 49 years and raised a family of six children: Melissa Mohr Liano (Ken), Vonda Burke Peters (Jeffrey), the late Melanie Mohr, the late Torrence Burke, Holbrook “Bert” Mohr (Misty) and Douglas Mohr (Mary Jane). They have 10 grandchildren, including Pace Mohr, who preceded him in death, and six great grandchildren.

John was a Christian and most recently attended Meadow Grove Baptist Church in Brandon. We’d like to thank Brother Steve Wilson and the church staff for helping us in this time. In place of flowers, consider donations to Meadow Grove Baptist, your own church, or any organization that works to make the world a better place.

Visitation will be from 2:00 to 3:00 pm on Sunday, September 22, 2024, at Meadow Grove Baptist Church with the funeral service at 3:00 pm.  Dr. Mohr will be laid to rest in Oakdale Baptist Church Cemetery.