Harry O'Rear

Waynesville, Harry Barron O'Rear, age 88, of Calhoun Ridge Drive, died on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at his residence after a brief illness. Dr. O'Rear was born in Jasper, AL on June 26, 1920, the son of the late Schley O'Rear and Grace Boshell O'Rear. He was also preceded in death by two sisters, Jean O'Rear Pickett and Mary Frances O'Rear Knight, both of Jasper, AL. Dr. O'Rear graduated from Walker County High School in Jasper, AL and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Scholastic honors included membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, Gamma Sigma Epsilon, and Alpha Omega Alpha. Following graduation from medical school on December 23, 1943, he and his future wife traveled to her parents' home in Milford, DE to be married on Christmas Day. Dr. O'Rear then joined the army as a medical officer and spent the next two years in the Philippines. He returned to the US after his military duty to complete a residency in pediatrics at Duke University in Durham, NC. Dr. O'Rear joined the faculty of the Medial College of Georgia in Augusta in 1950 and rose through the faculty ranks to become Professor of Pediatrics, Dean of the School of Medicine, and became the third President of the Medical College of Georgia from 1960–1972. From the medical college, he was moved to the central office of the University System of Georgia as the Vice-Chancellor of Health Affairs, a position he held until his retirement in 1985. The many hobbies of Harry and Charlotte O'Rear included sailing, bird watching, wildflower photography, and hiking/backpacking along the Appalachian Trail and in the Smoky Mountains. The love of the mountains led them to the Waynesville, NC area where they built their retirement home in 1989—a home where both enjoyed the ever changing and stimulating seasons of beauty found all around them. Dr. O'Rear's strong Christian faith was shown in the way he lived his life and through his love of nature, family, and friends. Dr. O'Rear is survived by his wife of 65 years, Charlotte Grove O'Rear of Waynesville, NC; one daughter, Sherry O'Rear Price and her husband, Dan, of Hoover, AL and one son, Terry O'Rear and his wife, Sheryl, of Anderson, SC; three grandsons; one granddaughter; two great grandsons; two great granddaughters; and many other family members who loved and will miss him. A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 15, 2008 in the Waynesville Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with Reverend Ashley Calhoun and Dr. Jack Downey officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. Memorials may be made to the Boy Scouts of America, P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015 or online at http://www.scouting.org

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