John Preston Darby M.D.

SAN ANGELO After a long battle with ALS, John Preston Darby, M.D., died on March 14, 2011. Memorial service is at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2011, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Arrangements are by Johnson's Funeral Home. Preston was born to John Preston and Mary Hayne Darby in Columbia, South Carolina on October 21, 1930 and spent his boyhood years at his grandparents' home near Congaree, South Carolina. He graduated from Dreher High School and the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he was a member of the varsity swimming team for two years. He attended the Medical College of South Carolina in Charleston, graduating in 1954. After a rotating internship at Methodist Hospital in Gary, Indiana, he enlisted in the Air Force and spent two years as a flight surgeon stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. During this time he researched shark repellent, and observed the atomic bomb test in the Pacific. He served a residency in Internal Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio followed by a one year fellowship at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. performing pioneering studies on snake venom and snake bite. He was then Chief of Medicine USAF Hospital Clark Air Force Base, Philippines and Chief of Medicine at Keesler Air Force Base Hospital in Biloxi, Mississippi. Leaving the Air Force in 1964, he practiced Internal Medicine in Big Spring, then moved to San Angelo in 1969. He retired from active practice in 2004. He was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, a member of the Texas Society of Internal Medicine, and the Concho Valley Medical Society. Preston's interests in humanitarian efforts were well known. He volunteered to work in clinics along the Texas-Mexico border, in Honduras, Guyana, and during a cholera epidemic in Manila. In 1985, he volunteered to serve with the Afghan resistance following the Soviet invasion and returned to Afghanistan in 1992 and 2005. He was a Board Member of the International Medical Corps, a co-founder and President of International Orphan Care, establishing clinics and orphanages in Afghanistan. In recognition of his work he was honored with the Liberty Bell Award, the HOPE Award, Distinguished Alumnus of the Medical University of South Carolina in 1987, and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Humanitarian Award from the University of South Carolina in 1995. Preston's interests and hobbies included acting, writing, backpacking, SCUBA diving and instructing, Private, Commercial, and Glider pilot, boating, physical fitness and deep-sea fishing. He was a member of Mensa and donated blood regularly for 30 years. He published numerous scientific articles and two books, "Tears of the Oppressed," an account of his adventures in Afghanistan, and a novel, "The Reluctant Assassin." With his good friend and co-author, Ken Casper he recently completed another novel, "Mankillers." Preston is survived by his wife Pamela and their three children, Hayne Thomson, Mary Preston, and Sarah Galbraith; children from a previous marriage, John Preston Darby, Jr., and Catherine Darby Hart, as well as three grandchildren, Darby, Steven, and Susan Hart. Of all his accomplishments Preston was most proud of his children. He is also survived by his brothers, Theodore and Warren Darby, his sister, Elizabeth Darby Clare, son-in-law, Dee Hart as well as a host of nephews, nieces and cousins. He was preceded in death by a younger sister, Mary Darby Matthews and his son, Steven Graham Darby. The family expresses their appreciation to Vista Care Hospice, the ALS health care team in San Antonio, physicians, friends, and musicians whose visits boosted his spirits. A special thank you to Ken Casper and Dr. Lance Read. "The darkest road is made lighter when traveled with a friend." In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to one's favorite charity. Arrangements are by Johnson's Funeral Home. Family and friends can sign an online guestbook at johnsons-funeralhome.com.