R. Winston Roberts

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - R. Winston Roberts passed away Monday, Feb. 2, 2004, in Panama City, where he resided at the Bay Crest Nursing Center with Pat, his wife of 59 years. He was predeceased by his father, Rufus Winston Roberts Sr.; his mother, Thelma Guilford Roberts; and his brother, Allen Guilford Roberts. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Moore Roberts; two daughters, Trish Petrie and Shelley Britton and husband George; a son, Judson Roberts and wife Jeanette; his grandchildren, George Britton and wife Kathy, Chris, Lainie and Shelley Petrie and Dennis and Nick Roberts; and two great-grandchildren, Emma and Taylor Britton. Winston was born Aug. 9, 1916, in Birmingham, Ala. He graduated from Phillips High School in Birmingham and then attended Duke University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He graduated from Duke University Medical School in 1940. Following graduation in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp. While awaiting overseas duty, he was sent to Affinity, W.Va., to assist Dr. Frank Judson Moore, the only doctor serving in the coal-mining region It was there that he met his future wife, Pat, who was Dr. Moore's daughter. Winston served as a flight surgeon and chief medical officer in the Pacific arena in World War II from 1942 to 1945, primarily in the Ellice Islands. He flew 10 missions, achieved the rank of captain and was awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Medal and the Silver Star. Pat and Winston were married May 13, 1944. After the war, they returned to Duke University, where Winston began his residency in ophthalmology. He then practiced with the Eye Clinic at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. He became head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the medical center in 1947 and was named chief of ophthalmology at Bowman Gray Medical School in 1948. He was also a member of the Eye Study Group and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In 1975, Winston and Pat moved to Hilton Head, S.C., where he helped start the Hilton Head Hospital and served as head of the ophthalmology department until his retirement. Our family would like to thank Bobby, Karen, Sandra, Melanie, Marie and all of the incredible staffers at the Bay Crest Nursing Center for the special love and care they gave to our dad at the end of his life. A celebration of Winston's life will be held at sunset Sunday, Feb. 29, at Trish's bed-and-breakfast, the Turtle Beach Inn, near Port St. Joe, Fla.