Dr. Roderick Julius Humphreys

COLUMBIA Dr. Roderick J. Humphreys, 88, of Columbia, died at home on Friday, August 26, 2011 after a long illness. He was born on December 17, 1922 in Bennington, Vermont and was the son of Julius W. Humphreys and Mildred DeForge Humphreys. He attended Bennington public schools and earned B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of Vermont. He completed residencies at the Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington, VT, and the University of Texas-Medical Branch. Dr. Humphreys performed medical research at the University of Texas, Galveston and the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies, publishing several articles in scientific journals. Dr. Humphreys twice served his country as a physician in the United States Air Force. From 1952 to 1954, he served in Texas, Minnesota and Massachusetts and from 1974 to 1979 he served as a Colonel stationed at Vandenberg AFB, CA and Pope AFB, NC. He practiced in Bennington, VT from 1954 to 1974. From 1979 until his retirement in 1990, Dr. Humphreys served veterans at the Dorn V.A. Hospital in Columbia. Dr. Humphreys was a prize winning rose gardener and was active in showing and judging roses for many years. He was a member of the South Carolina and American Rose Societies, the N.Y. Academy of Sciences, the American Heart Association, the Vermont State Medical Society, and the Society of Sigma Xi. While living in Bennington, he was an active member and trustee of the Second Congregational Church. In Columbia, he was an active member of the Trinity Presbyterian Church where he served two terms as Elder. Dr. Humphreys is survived by his wife of 48 years, Nancy, of Columbia; his son, Roderick and wife, Martha, of N. Reading, MA; his daughter, Ann Humphreys of Columbia, his daughter Cynthia Panagiotidis and husband, Christos, of Thessaloniki, Greece; his grandchildren, Alexandros Panagiotidis, Eleanor Humphreys, and Emily Humphreys, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife, Dr. Elizabeth Drake Humphreys, and his brother, Donald. A memorial service for Dr. Humphreys will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, August 29, 2011, at Trinity Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Humphreys' memory can be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 1000 Greenlawn Dr., Columbia, SC 29209 or to the UVM College of Medicine Fund, UVM College of Medicine, Development & Alumni Relations, Given Building E-100, 89 Beaumont Avenue, Burlington, VT 05405 The family wishes to give Sincere and Blessed Thanks to Regency Hospice of Columbia, their staff, and his in-house care givers, Sandra Harrell, Renada James, Betty Foggie, Melissa Anderson, and Martha Dean.