J. Alphonso Dandy, Savannah's first Black eye doctor, dies at 82
Friends and family remember James Alphonso Dandy, Savannah's first Black eye doctor, as a selfless, successful and godly man. Dandy, who died Oct. 23 was 82.
After graduating from Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1972 and starting his practice, Savannah Family Vision Center, in the same year, Dandy went on to serve the community for 32 years as an optometrist, despite an eye disease that slowly leads to blindness.
"It was one of the reasons he wanted to practice, to learn more about it and see if there was a cure," said his daughter, Ronlyn Dandy. "That's one of the reasons my brothers went into ophthalmology, too."
Her brothers, Russell and Ronald Dandy, are ophthalmology specialists at Chatham Eye Associates. Dandy stopped practicing optometry in 2004, but opened Antioch Medial Associates, the Antioch Foot & Ankle Group.
State Sen. Derek Mallow grew up going to Dandy's practice in Savannah, from when he was just 6 years old all the way into his adult life. Mallow said he would never forget when Dandy gave him his first pair of contact lenses for free, a selfless gesture that wasn't uncommon for him.
"He wasn't a small man," Mallow said. "He gave off this aura of excellence and another major characteristic of his was his faith."
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Ronlyn said her father was a huge man of faith, and that it was something that really drove him and all that he did.
"If he felt like God wanted him to do something, he would do it, even though it didn't make sense to a lot of around him. His faith was that strong," Ronlyn said.
In life, Dandy was very active in his church, serving as a deacon and member of the Trustee Ministry. He was the former chairman of the board and interim executive director of Savannah Association for the Blind. He was also the founder and CEO of Dandy Youth Development, which is housed where his practice was on Waters Avenue.
Dandy Youth Development is nonprofit that was founded in 2015 to combat the negative statistics and low expectations promoted against Black boys and men in America. Ronlyn said they hope to keep the nonprofit going.
"He wanted to make sure he instilled in young boys ... to go for their dreams and to show them a world outside of what they knew." Ronlyn said. "He did that for me, too; to understand that anything was possible if you put your mind to it."
He also loved to travel, had a love of pecans, loved to go on jazz cruises and wrote books, like Blind Boops, where he tells the amusing and memorable stories of his personal experiences while going blind.
Dandy had actually finished his next book, God's Goodness from a Blind Man's Perspective, shortly before going to the hospital where he passed.
"He wanted to make sure he finished it before he went into the hospital." Ronlyn said. "And we'll probably read some of it at the funeral."
A public viewing will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday in The Adams Chapel. Funeral services will be at noon Friday.
Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: J. Alphonso Dandy, Savannah's first Black eye doctor, dies at 82
