George Ritchie

George Gordon Ritchie, Jr., M.D. “Death is nothing more than a doorway, something you walk through.” - Dr. George Ritchie George Gordon Ritchie, Jr., M.D., age 84, physician, speaker, author and avid fisherman, who loved being out on the river, died at home in lrvington, Va. on October 29, 2007, following a courageous battle with cancer. He was born on September 25, 1923, in Richmond, Va., son of the late George Gordon Ritchie, Sr. and Katherine Dabney Ritchie. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and attended the University of Richmond until volunteering for the Army in WWII, interrupting his college education. In May 2003 he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Richmond, along with many other men and women whose education was halted by the war. He was united in marriage to Marguerite Shell Ritchie on August 23, 1947. Dr. Ritchie graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1950 after the war and ran his general practice until 1964. During that time he over saw the Richmond-Rope Harbor Alcoholic Hospital for three years and held a position as president of the Richmond Academy of General Practice. He did his Residency in Psychiatry at the University of Virginia from 1964 through 1967, winning the William James Research Award for Research in Psychiatry. He helped found the David C. Wilson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va. In 1983, Dr. Ritchie moved to Anniston Alabama as Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the NE Alabama Regional Medical Center. Perhaps Dr. Ritchie is best known for his speaking and books on his Near Death experience, having shared his experience across the U. S. and Europe, but he was especially proud of his work with youth. He was involved with Scouting from 1935-1957, taking the first Explorer Post from Richmond to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, NM. He was also founder and president of the Universal Youth Corps, Inc, for almost 20 years. The UYC was a movement that discipled young men and women in following Christ. Dr. Ritchie grew up in Ginter Park Baptist Church and Ginter Park Presbyterian Church. He was a charter member and elder in the Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church. He was a member of Centenary UMC in Richmond, First UMC in Charlottesville, White Stone UMC, First UMC in Anniston Al. and Morattico Baptist Church in Kilmarnock. He served on various board positions and as a Sunday School teacher for years. Dr. Ritchie is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marguerite Shell Ritchie, his daughter, Bonnie Ritchie DeHaven, his son and his wife, John Coleman Ritchie and Laraine Henry Ritchie; granddaughters, Dabney Shell DeHaven and Caroline Ritchie DeHaven; great grandchildren, Hudson Beau and Paisley Mae. A Memorial Service will be held 2:00 p.m. Thursday, November 1 at Morattico Baptist Church in Kilmarnock, Va. (follow route 200, 3.1 miles from the light at Church St. in Kilmarnock. Relatives and friends may call 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 31 at Currie Funeral Home, 116 E. Church St., Kilmarnock In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to: Hospice of Virginia, P0 Box 2098, Tappahannock, Va. 22560 or Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, (Memo line: for the work at VCU), Attn: Donation Services P.0. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53791-9703.