Dr. Thomas David Elder

Dr. Thomas David Elder, 87, died February 4, 2019 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was the son of the late Thomas Althauser Elder and Louise Burnham Sargeant Elder. He is survived by his wife, Johanna Bouldin Paul Elder and his daughters Peyton Elder Manley (Tommy), granddaughters, Kaitlin and Caroline; Martha Elder Wallace (John), granddaughters Meredith and Jessie; Katie Elder Bagay (Martin) and granddaughters, Anne and Johanna, grandson, John Bouldin. He was predeceased by his son, Thomas David Elder Jr. (Tom). David Elder earned a Bachelor of Science from Duke University in 1954 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1955. He received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina in 1957, where he received the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Award. He completed his internship and residency program there and was Chief Resident in Medicine at Duke Hospital. Upon the completion of a Rheumatology Fellowship at Duke, David spent two years as a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He then served on the faculty of the Duke University School of Medicine and was a postgraduate fellow in medical research for two years, until 1965 when he entered practice in Norfolk, Virginia. He practiced Rheumatology and Internal Medicine for 32 years until his retirement in 1997. David’s career included being one of the founding Doctors of the Norfolk Diagnostic Clinic, and also serving as an Associate Professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School from 1975 to 1980. David was an avid reader, he loved fishing, boating and family vacations at the beach; he loved playing tennis with his group, watching Duke Basketball, and spending time with friends and neighbors. He will be remembered for his quick wit and humor, broad smile and big blue eyes, but mostly for his love of his children and his wife of 61 years. Please join the family for a Memorial Service at Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, February 9th, at 3pm, followed by a Reception at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club. In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made to Duke University School of Medicine, Alzheimer’s Research at BrightFocus.org/stopAD," target="_new" rel="nofollow">www.BrightFocus.org/stopAD, or to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.CFF.org. Finally, the family is most grateful for the compassionate care of David in his last years by Geneva Fallis. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.hdoliver.com