Dr. Archibald Weems McFadden

MCFADDEN, ARCHIBALD WEEMS Dr. A. Weems McFadden, 85, died December 18, 2010. He was a retired Army Medical Corps Colonel with a private practice in Dermatology from 1973 to 1995. He retired to Annapolis in 1975. He was the son of the late Captain Archibald George William McFadden, US Navy of the US Naval Academy class of 1924 and his wife, Anna Maria Brice Ridout of Annapolis. Col. McFadden was born in San Diego, California on 27 October 1925. He attended the Annapolis Grammar School and Annapolis High School and graduated from the Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1943. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1949 and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1953. He also graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Prior to attending pre-med studies at College Park, he was an infantryman in the 399th Regiment of the 100th Infantry Division in France and Germany. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman's Badge in 1945. Col. McFadden was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant after graduation in 1953. He was an Intern and Resident in Dermatology at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, DC. He served as Chief of Dermatology at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone for three years. In 1960, he was certified by the American Board of Dermatology. He was Chief of Dermatology at US Army Hospital at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina. Col. McFadden graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas in 1964. He was then assigned as Division Surgeon of 7th Infantry Division, Republic of Korea. From the 7th Infantry Division, he served as Chief of Dermatology at the 121st Evacuation Hospital in Ascom City, Republic of Korea (1964-65). In 1965, Col. McFadden assumed command of the 540th General Dispensary at Kaiserslautern, Germany. From there he was assigned as the Commanding Officer of the 196th Station Hospital (US Army Element) in the Paris American Hospital in Paris, France. In 1967, he moved the 196th Station Hospital from Paris to Mons, Belgium. The hospital was later moved to Brussels, Belgium pending the construction of the NATO-SHAPE Support Hospital. Col. McFadden served as Division Surgeon of the 9th Infantry Division at Dong Tam Base in the Mekong River Delta of the Republic of Viet Nam (1968-1969). Following his return to the United States in 1969, he was assigned to the Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Col. McFadden retired while at Valley Forge General Hospital in 1973. Col. McFadden's various military awards included the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star with "V" Device and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, Air Medal and army Commendation Medal. He had several Campaign medals, including European Theater with three stars, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal with four stars. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge in Vietnam and holds six Republic of Vietnam medals. Col. McFadden was Certified by the American Board of Dermatology, a Fellow of American Academy of Dermatology, member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland. He had a lifelong interest in history and family history and genealogy and especially enjoyed the history of Anne Arundel County, Medieval history, and English manorial history. Col. McFadden was a member of a number of hereditary and patriotic societies and an officer and life member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Society of the War of 1812, Descendants of the Lords of Maryland Manors, Military Order of the World Wars, the Manorial Society of Great Britain and the Society of Colonia Wars. He was also an Officer in the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, a British Order of Chivalry. In 1985, as result of his passion for history and genealogy, in 1985 Col. McFadden purchased the Manorial Lordship of Deopham in Norfolk County, England from the Early of Kimberley. This was possible under English law, which treated the title of Lord of the Manor as real estate even without any land or buildings remaining. The Manor of Deopham is registered in the Record Office of Norfolk County, which retains the manorial records dating from the 16th Century. Deopham was first recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 ordered by William the Conqueror. Weems McFadden was married to Shirley L. Rufenacht McFadden for fifty years. Shirley McFadden was a registered nurse who trained in Woman's Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. She was known for her dedication to Col. McFadden and her willingness to travel with him to many of his assignments both at home and overseas. He is survived by his brother, Rev. Grafton Ridout McFadden of Jacksonville, Florida and his sister, Anna Maria Brice McFadden of Annapolis; four children, Ann Weems McFadden, Susan Selby McFadden Miller with Queen Anne County Public Schools, Weems Ridout McFadden, Executive Accountant for the University System of Maryland, and Archibald George William McFadden, Esq. with the Office of the Public Defender, Wicomico County, and eight grandchildren. He was a lifetime member of St. Anne's Parish in Annapolis and served the church in many capacities including Lay Eucharistic Minister, the Cemetery Committee and the Memorials Committee. The memorial service will be held at St. Anne's Church on the circle in Annapolis on December 31, 2010 at 11:00 am. Reception will follow at the Parish House at 199 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Whitehall Cemetery Foundation in care of Orlando Ridout IV, 1021 Whitehall Cove, Annapolis, MD 21409, or to St. Anne's Church, 199 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD. Online Condolences may be made to www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com