C. Burns Roehrig M.D.

C. Burns Roehrig, M.D. Charles Burns Roehrig, M.D., 91, of Hilton Head Island, January 17, after a brief illness. Dr. Roehrig was born in Brookline, MA, attended Newton public schools and Philips Academy, Andover. His undergraduate studies at Amherst College were interrupted when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was sent to both the Citadel and Vanderbilt University and from there to the Medical School of the University of Maryland. After World War II, Dr. Roehrig completed his clinical training in Boston and post-graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Roehrig served as a Flight Surgeon and Captain in the United States Air Force, during the Korean conflict and was assigned to the Alaska Command. He was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, where he met his future wife, Chief Nurse Patricia Orme, while together delivering a baby at the Rest Camp at Mt. McKinley National Park. After their marriage in 1952, the couple settled in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Dr. Roehrig specialized in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and maintained a practice in Boston with privileges at the New England Baptist Hospital and the New England Deaconess Hospital, where he served as Chief of the General Medical Staff and President of the Medical Administrative Board. He was President of the New England Diabetes Association, served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston YMCA and was president of the Massachusetts Society for Internal Medicine. Dr. Roehrig was a member of the Physician Advisory Group of the Health Care Financing Administration (now known as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid). Dr. Roehrig served as president of the American Society of Internal Medicine (ASIM) and then was editor of ASIM's monthly magazine, The Internist, for 12 years. He was Chair of the Council on Long Range Planning of the American Medical Association. In 1996, Dr. and Mrs. Roehrig retired to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Dr. Roehrig became an avid explorer of the Island, pedaling across beaches and bike paths virtually every morning. The Roehrigs loved music and were perennial subscribers to the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina and enjoyed many evenings at the Jazz Corner. After 50 happy years of marriage, Patricia Roehrig passed away in 2002. Dr. Roehrig is survived by his three children and their spouses, Joan Roehrig Vater and Paul Vater of Andover, N.J., Jennifer Roehrig Munn and David Munn of Concord, MA, and Charles (Chip) Burns Roehrig, Jr. and Barbara Sullivan Roehrig of Denver; five grandchildren: Martha Russell Vater, Owen Burns Vater, Zachary Burns Munn, Sydney Collens Munn and Charles Burns (Burnsie) Roehrig, III. Memorial donations may be made to the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head, SC, 29928. The Island Funeral Home and Crematory. www.theislandfuneralhome.com.