Obituaries

Rosalind Smith Abernathy

Photo of Rosalind Smith Abernathy
Dr. Rosalind Smith Abernathy, 95, of Little Rock, Ark., and Durham, N.C., died on June 17, 2021, in the company of her family at her home in The Forest at Duke, Durham. Rosalind "Ros" Gower Smith was born on Oct. 12, 1925, in Greenville, S.C., and raised in Durham, N.C., the only child of Susan Gower Smith, research scientist, and David Tillerson Smith, professor at the Duke University School of Medicine. Ros attended Westtown School in Westtown, Pa., and then earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1945. She went on to attend Duke University School of Medicine, where she met fellow student Robert "Bob" Abernathy. Ros and Bob were married on April 2, 1949, at Duke University Chapel, and both received their medical degrees that same year. Ros completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Ros and Bob moved to Little Rock, Ark., in 1957, just as the desegregation crisis was making national news. Always one to take action to ensure equality and justice, Ros joined the Women's Emergency Committee to open our schools to fight against the segregationists. Continuing her medical career, Ros became an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS. She worked at UAMS, serving in numerous capacities, for 55 years. Ros was board certified in allergy and immunology, but in addition to treating allergies she was instrumental in treating tuberculosis and cystic fibrosis patients across the entire state of Arkansas. She mentored hundreds of medical students over the years, including Joycelyn Elders, who later became Surgeon General of the United States. Ros was a pediatric consultant for the Tuberculosis Program for the Arkansas Department of Health, an allergy consultant and instructor at the Pine Bluff regional campus of the UAMS, director of Pediatric Ambulatory Services, director of the UAMS Arkansas Cystic Fibrosis Center, director of the Pediatric Allergy Clinic at Arkansas Children's Hospital, and staff physician at the Arkansas Children's Colony at Conway. She continued to consult, see patients, and travel to allergy clinics well into her 80s. While practicing medicine and serving in multiple administrative capacities, Ros and Bob raised five children. Ros was an early role model for female medical students and students in general, and demonstrated by example that a demanding career did not preclude having a family. Ros was also a founding member of the Friends Meeting in Little Rock and was one of the pillars of that organization for decades. She was a driving force behind the Meeting's acquisition of their meeting house. She was proud that her children, like her, attended Westtown School and absorbed some of the Quaker values that were important to her. Being active and busy was part of Ros' nature. She was a long-time member of the Arkansas Choral Society, a gardener, and a runner who enjoyed competing in local races. She enjoyed travelling and family camping trips on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. She didn't really believe in downtime. She famously saved up a year's worth of magazines and journals to read during the annual vacations she and her family spent at the family's beach house on Pawleys Island, S.C. When her kids were grown, she sent long weekly letters, carbon copied in the early years, but later done on her computer, keeping everyone up to date on everything. Recipients were grateful she typed rather than wrote, as her penmanship was as hard to read as any doctor's ever was. Ros will also be remembered for her similarly newsy Christmas letters. She enjoyed keeping up with not only her family and extended family but with her many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. In 2012 Ros and Bob moved back to Durham where they were happy to be near their daughter Susie. Bob passed away in 2016. Ros' legacy is one of dedication to and notable accomplishment in her field, a strong and resolute desire to be useful, and the demonstration of the Quaker values of commitment to social service, education, and the betterment of all people. During her long and active life, she was a role model, inspiration, and untiring example of service to others. Ros will be deeply missed by her five children and their spouses: Robert Shields Abernathy Jr. and wife Emily of Atlanta; David Smith Abernathy and wife Rhonda of Morganton, N.C.; Susan Gower Abernathy and husband Stephen Helton of Durham; Thomas Glenn Abernathy and wife Elin Waring of City Island, N.Y.; and Douglas Leslie Abernathy and wife Elizabeth, of Oak Ridge, Tenn. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, Steven David Abernathy and Emma Frances Abernathy; Kelli Abernathy Shackelford and Kristan Diana Abernathy; Linnea Susan Abernathy and Robert Waring Abernathy; Rose Abernathy Keller, Celia Abernathy Bayliss, and Jane Lillian Abernathy; and two great-grandchildren, Sage Harper Shackelford and James Walker Shackelford. A memorial service will be held in Durham at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Ros' memory to the Little Rock Friends meeting or the Durham Friends meeting, or to the charity of choice. Online condolences may be shared: CremationSocietyNC.com

Published July 10, 2021

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