Robert Webb Jr., 88

Robert Basye Webb, Jr. M.D, 88, of Fairfax, Virginia and formerly of Williamsburg and Petersburg, Virginia, died September 12, 2014 of health conditions related to old age.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Faye Patterson Overton Webb. He is survived by his four children: Robert Basye Webb, III, of Fairfax, Virginia, and his wife, Nancy; Susan Patterson Webb Dreyfus, of New York, New York and her husband, Jean Francois; David Fields Webb, of Washington, D.C. and his wife, Martha; and Mark Overton Webb, of Richmond, Virginia and his wife, Jill. He also leaves his brother, Blair McWhorter Webb, M.D. and his wife, Mary Paul Ackiss Webb, of Bethesda, Maryland.

He is survived by nine grandchildren and one great grand-child: Ryan Baxter Burns of Richmond, Virginia, and his wife, Jen, and their son Tucker Baxter Burns, Kevin Robert Webb, Lindsay Elizabeth Webb, Steven-Louis Webb Dreyfus, Alex Patterson Webb Dreyfus, Davis McWhorter Webb, Elizabeth Fields Webb, Sarah Garnett Webb and Whitney Marguerite Webb.

He was born January 7, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan to Robert Basye Webb and Marion Fields McWhorter Webb (Tyler). His family returned to Virginia when he was six months old and he was raised in Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated from Matthew Maury High School in 1943. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in 1947, where he was a member and president of Chi Phi social fraternity, a member of Chi Beta Phi Scientific Fraternity and president of the Inter-Fraternity Council. After teaching high school chemistry andmathematics for one year at Creeds High School in Princess Anne County, Virginia, he enrolled at the University of Virginia Medical School, earning his medical degree in 1952. He then served in the U.S. Army, interning at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. While completing his internship, he met his wife and lifelong companion, and married in 1953 shortly before he was deployed to Korea, where he served as a 1st lieutenant with the Second Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, serving first as a battalion surgeon and then as a regimental surgeon and was a member of the 38th Parallel Medical Society of Korea.

Upon completion of his military service, he returned to Virginia and joined the general medical practice of Dr. Floyd Dormirein Virginia Beach. In 1956, he was awarded a three-year fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for the study of ophthalmology and became board certified in this specialty. Upon completion of his fellowship, he served as an officer in the United States Public Health Service and was stationed on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, providing eye care to the Navajo population. Upon completion of his service, he returned to Virginia and joined Dr. Glenn Ward Phipps in co-founding the Petersburg Eye Center (now part of the Virginia Eye Institute), where he practiced until his retirement in 1994.

He was devoted to his wife and family, his medical practice, his Christian faith and his country. He had a serious and scientific approach to life and demanded achievement and responsibility from those around him. His belief in the continuum of scientific advancement led him to continually push for innovation in his medical practice.He was a pioneer in his field of ophthalmology, receiving the Coopervision award for achievement in advancing the art of phacoemulsification. He was also the first ophthalmologist in Virginia to routinely use intraocular lenses in the treatment of cataracts.

After practicing ophthalmology for 35 years, he retired in 1993 and moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. His final years with his wife were spent at the Williamsburg Landing Retirement Community and, following her passing in 2012, at The Virginian Retirement Community in Fairfax, Virginia.

While practicing in Petersburg, he was actively engaged in community affairs. He served as a physician Commissioner of the Southside Regional Hospital Authority for four years and was a member of The Lions Club and served on the boards of Blue Cross-Blue-Shield and John Tyler Community College and on the Petersburg advisory board for Nationsbank and Sovran Bank. He was active in Republican politics and served on the Petersburg Electoral Board for many years. In support of his children’s athletic endeavors, he became an active supporter of the Tri-Cities Y.M.C.A., serving on its board for many years including two years as its president. Also to support his children, he was very active in A.A.U. and USA Swimming, serving as state chairman of the Officials and Rules Committee and was a certified national swimming official, officiating at several national championships, including one U.S. Olympics Trials. He was instrumental in establishing the Triton Swim Club and the Virginia Association for Competitive Swimming, which provided a training platform that enabled numerous swimmers from the Tri-Cities area to compete at the collegiate and national level.

He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and helped establish Covenant Presbyterian Church in Petersburg where he served as an Elder. During his retirement in Williamsburg, he became active in the Stephen Ministry.

In his retirement, he was an active member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, operating in the waters of the North Carolina Outer Banks, where he had a second home. He also served as a volunteer math tutor and mentor to students from Williamsburg city schools.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Petersburg and the family will host a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the University of Virginia Medical School Foundation.

Burial will be private.