1912
Dr.
2011
Dr. Catherine Woods Richard Smith
August 12, 1912 — January 7, 2011
Dr. Catherine Woods Richard Smith, age 98, passed away peacefully on January 7, 2011. She was born on August 2, 1912, the 5th child of James Edgar Richard and Annie Lockhart Richard, at Mountain Falls, Virginia.
Dr. Smith was a graduate of Handley High School in Winchester, VA, and attended Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, VA, before graduating from the George Washington University School of Medicine 1941. She completed her medical internship at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.
While her husband, Charles Willoughby Smith, whom she married in 1939, was called to active duty during WWII, Dr. Smith took special training at Bethesda, MD to join the US Public Health Services. She was domiciled to Virginia, serving first in Richmond and then in the Southwest part of the state. She was the first female physician to be Director of Public Health, serving Bristol, Washington and Smyth Counties. In 1946, she took a general residency at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon and practiced Gynecology and Obstetrics for nearly 20 years, delivering hundreds of babies across SW Virginia. In 1964, she went to New York City to complete a residency in Psychiatry at New York Medical College. Returning to Abingdon in 1968, Dr. Smith became the first Director of the Mental Health Clinic in Marion, VA. In 1980, she began a private medical practice in Abingdon where her focus was holistic and mental health. She retired in 1993.
Dr. Smith served as Chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of Public Schools in Washington County, VA, President of the Association of University Women, President of Booklovers Club and President of the Washington County Medical Society. She was a founding member of the American Holistic Medical Association.
Dr. Smith is preceded in death by her parents, several siblings, her loving husband of 41 years, Charles Willoughby Smith, and her second son, Patrick R. Smith.
She is survived by her sons, Charles Michael and wife Tamara, and Daniel Willoughby and wife Amy, all of Abingdon. She has four grandsons: Benjamin and wife Jenny, and Willoughby both of Abingdon; Alex, of Annandale, VA and Evan, Boulder, CO. She is also survived by step-grandchildren Adam Winters and family, Vienna, Virginia; Amber Hardy and family, Glade Spring, and Sarah Stewart and family, Bristol, VA. Additionally, she is survived by two siblings, Willard Richard of Indiana and Dorothy Bowman of Maryland, several nieces and nephews including special niece Kay Beth Fuller Washington D.C., and Daris Worley, caregiver and friend.
A memorial service will be held at Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church at 4:00 pm, Saturday, January 15, 2011. The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00 pm at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Catherine Smith Scholarship Funds at Virginia Highlands Community College and Emory and Henry College, and the Washington County Public Library Foundation.
Dr. Smith was a graduate of Handley High School in Winchester, VA, and attended Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, VA, before graduating from the George Washington University School of Medicine 1941. She completed her medical internship at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC.
While her husband, Charles Willoughby Smith, whom she married in 1939, was called to active duty during WWII, Dr. Smith took special training at Bethesda, MD to join the US Public Health Services. She was domiciled to Virginia, serving first in Richmond and then in the Southwest part of the state. She was the first female physician to be Director of Public Health, serving Bristol, Washington and Smyth Counties. In 1946, she took a general residency at Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon and practiced Gynecology and Obstetrics for nearly 20 years, delivering hundreds of babies across SW Virginia. In 1964, she went to New York City to complete a residency in Psychiatry at New York Medical College. Returning to Abingdon in 1968, Dr. Smith became the first Director of the Mental Health Clinic in Marion, VA. In 1980, she began a private medical practice in Abingdon where her focus was holistic and mental health. She retired in 1993.
Dr. Smith served as Chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of Public Schools in Washington County, VA, President of the Association of University Women, President of Booklovers Club and President of the Washington County Medical Society. She was a founding member of the American Holistic Medical Association.
Dr. Smith is preceded in death by her parents, several siblings, her loving husband of 41 years, Charles Willoughby Smith, and her second son, Patrick R. Smith.
She is survived by her sons, Charles Michael and wife Tamara, and Daniel Willoughby and wife Amy, all of Abingdon. She has four grandsons: Benjamin and wife Jenny, and Willoughby both of Abingdon; Alex, of Annandale, VA and Evan, Boulder, CO. She is also survived by step-grandchildren Adam Winters and family, Vienna, Virginia; Amber Hardy and family, Glade Spring, and Sarah Stewart and family, Bristol, VA. Additionally, she is survived by two siblings, Willard Richard of Indiana and Dorothy Bowman of Maryland, several nieces and nephews including special niece Kay Beth Fuller Washington D.C., and Daris Worley, caregiver and friend.
A memorial service will be held at Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church at 4:00 pm, Saturday, January 15, 2011. The family will receive friends from 2:00-4:00 pm at the church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. Catherine Smith Scholarship Funds at Virginia Highlands Community College and Emory and Henry College, and the Washington County Public Library Foundation.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dr. Catherine Woods Richard Smith, please visit our flower store.
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