Thirty-one years after being crowned Cleburne High School homecoming queen, Dr. Susi Johnson Whitworth will preside over this weeks alumni celebrations as the CHS Ex-Students Association Coming Home Queen.

Dr. Whitworth was considered a leader by her classmates and teachers throughout her years at Cleburne High School, association President Cheri Fuller McCullough said. She was named Miss CHS by her fellow seniors, selected for Whos Who by the faculty and was the 1983 valedictorian.

Her commitment to help those in need began at CHS with her involvement in student service organizations including Student Council, Exchangettes and National Honor Society. She has continued to serve, as a pediatric infectious disease physician at Cook Childrens Medical Center in Fort Worth and through her involvement in numerous efforts including the implementation of the Snack Sack program here in Cleburne.

Whitworths achievements while at CHS included selection as class favorite three consecutive years, varsity cheerleader, election to senior class president and membership in the Latin Club.

According to the 1983 Santa Fe Trail yearbook, Susi Johnson was the most logical choice for Miss CHS, citing her numerous contributions to the school.

High school was so much fun, Whitworth said. We were involved in everything student council, Exchangettes we didnt focus on just one thing. I loved youth and government. And I had so many wonderful teachers Johnnie Hyde, Ben Oefinger, Pat McCarty Maggard, Glenda Young.

After graduation, Whitworth attended Baylor University, then on to medical school at the University of Texas at Galveston. She completed her residency at Arkansas Childrens Hospital in pediatrics and pediatrics infectious disease. She has been a member of Cook Childrens medical staff for 18 years.

I knew I would be a physician, Whitworth said. My dad, my uncle, my grandfather were all physicians. What I didnt think I would do was work with children. When I got to my third year of medical school and we began rotations, I chose pediatrics first because I wanted to get it out of the way. And I loved it. When we were doing our rotation in OB/GYN, I wanted to follow the babies I loved the babies.

The Whitworths lived in Fort Worth before their move to Cleburne. She and husband, Keith, a sociology professor at Texas Christian University, were involved in the Snack Sack project, which addresses child nutrition and hunger, through their church. They quickly determined that the same project was needed in Cleburne.

My daughter, Mary Ann, who was in the fifth grade at that time, came home one Friday and told me a friend had said that her family wouldnt be eating until Monday, which was pay day, Whitworth said. It was an epiphany for her and me. I realized there was a need here, too, not just Fort Worth.

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Whitworth named 2013 Coming Home Queen