Dr. Robert Gatling

Robert R. Gatling JACKSON, Miss. - Dr. Robert Riddick Gatling, M.D., 91, died Dec. 8, 2008, in his home. Dr. Gatling was born in Gates County, North Carolina, and was the son of the late Gladstone and Lillian Gatling. A graduate of Gates High School, he continued his education, receiving a Bachelor of Science at Wake Forest University in 1938 and earning his medical degree from Tulane University Medical School in 1941. A World War II veteran, Dr. Gatling served his country in the U.S. Navy in active duty from 1942 until 1946, having served as medical officer on both the USS Corry (DD463) and USS Topeka (CL67), and obtained the rank of lieutenant commander. A longtime resident of Jackson, Dr. Gatling retired in 1992 from the Veteran's Administration Medical Center where he served as the chief pathologist and director of lab services. Dr. Gatling had also served as an associate professor of pathology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center since 1960 and as a dedicated pathologist considered his life work the study of the pathogenesis of diseases. A communicant of St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, he also enjoyed creative writing and was a Fellow at both the U.S. and Canadian Academy of Pathology and the American Association of Pathologists. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Daughtry and sister, Carolyn. Surviving are his sons, Robert Gatling of Glen Dale, Md., and Paul Gatling of Denver; and daughters, Patricia McAleer of Garner, N.C., Laura Cavett of Oxford, Miss., and Alexa Haik of Jackson; one sister, Nina Parker of Gatesville; seven grandchildren, Justin and Macy McAleer, Michael, Kristin and Ellie Gatling and John and Madeline Cavett; one great-grandchild, Liam McAleer; and numerous nieces and nephews. A requiem Eucharist will be celebrated in St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson. Burial services will be held at a later time in the Gatesville cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Robert R. Gatling, M.D., Scholarship at Mississippi College.