• Birth and Death Year | 1917 - 2014
• Induction Year | 2000
• Profession | Veterinarian
• Oklahoma Connection | Montgomery established his veterinary clinic in Poteau, Oklahoma, in 1951.
• Hometown | Poteau

Fun Fact

Dr. John W. Montgomery received the Leadership Oklahoma Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 in recognition of his work in the civil rights movement in Oklahoma.

Quote

“When you’re blessed to have an opportunity to make a change for the better, then you ought to do it.” - Dr. John Montgomery, 2004

Bio

John W. Montgomery, a Texas native, graduated from Prairie View A&M in 1940 with a B.S. in agriculture before serving in the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II as first sergeant. After the war he attended the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), graduated with his doctorate in veterinary medicine, and worked one year for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before establishing his 50-year veterinary practice in Poteau, Oklahoma. Dr. Montgomery served on the board of regents for OSU and A&M Colleges. He served twice as chairman, and his term included the campaign to raise funds for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at OSU. He developed a new mission for Langston University, and a multi-purpose building was dedicated in his name as an Honorary Distinguished Alumnus. He received the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Leadership Oklahoma’s Lifetime Achievement Award.