Valton Harwell

Dr. Valton C. Harwell Dr. Valton C. Harwell, 75, retired Obstetrician and Gynecologist, died Monday, June 20, 2005, at his home in Sunnyside. A Service in Celebration of his Life will be held at 2:30 P.M. Sunday at St. Peter's Episcopal Church with The Reverend Thomas S. Wilson and The Reverend Michael Murphy officiating. Burial will be in St. John's Churchyard with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19. The family will visit with friends Thursday from 4:00 - 8:00 P.M. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home and Sunday after 1:00 P.M. in the Parish Hall of St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Memorials may be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 311 West Seventh Street, Columbia, TN 38401 or the Hope Clinic of Middle Tennessee, 105 North James Campbell Blvd, Suite A, Columbia, TN 38401. Notes of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.oakesandnichols.com. The son of the late Valton C. Harwell, Sr. and Ruth Brown Harwell, Dr. Harwell was born in Lewisburg and moved to Fayetteville at the age of twelve. He graduated from Columbia Military Academy in 1947 and attended Vanderbilt University on a Founder's Scholarship, graduating as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He attended Vanderbilt University Medical School, graduating in 1954. He took his internship at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On April 2, 1955 he married Martha Van McRady of Fayetteville. In July of 1955 he entered the United States Navy, was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina with the Marines until transferring to the United States Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida. He was designated a Naval Flight Surgeon in June 1956 and was stationed in Washington, D. C. After completing his tour of duty in 1958, he began his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital of Emory University. He continued to serve with the Naval Reserve Unit in Atlanta. In June 1961, he moved to Columbia to begin his practice as the first Board Certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist in Columbia, bringing into the world over 5,000 babies. Due to the distance he would have to travel to a Naval Air Station, he resigned his commission in the Navy at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Dr. Harwell was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, where he was a former choir member, Junior Warden, and Senior Warden. He had served as President of the Maury County Medical Society and as Chief of Staff at Maury Regional Hospital. He retired from his practice in June 1994 due to Parkinson's Disease. He loved his family, the practice of Medicine, his patients, his friends, hunting, hiking, and tennis. He was also an avid reader and a quiet, kind man of great depth and a wonderful sense of humor. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters, Lisa Van Harwell and Susan Elizabeth Harwell, both of Columbia; Mary Jennifer Harwell of Half Moon Bay, California; one son, David Carden (Bessie) Harwell of Huntsville, Alabama; three grandchildren, William Harwell Johnston, Jessica Elizabeth Johnston, and Tyler McRady Harwell, all of Columbia. He was preceded in death by a sister, Evelyn Kowel. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. & Mrs. Robert (Sarah) Thompson, Mr. & Mrs. Wick (Polly Ann) Halliday, Dr. & Mrs. George (Julie) Fiedler, Mr. & Mrs. John C. (Gerrie) Porter, Mr. & Mrs. Terry (Griffie) Cook, Mr. & Mrs. Don (Eva James) Crichton, Mr. & Mrs. Kelly (Lonsdale) Green, Mr. & Mrs. Terry (Joyce) Mays, Mr. & Mrs. Jimmy (Lucie) Mays, Mr. & Mrs. Rupert (Eunice) Colmore, Dr. Susan & Dawson Gray, Dr. & Mrs. Sam (Lucy Scott) Kuykendall, Mr. & Mrs. Joe (Betty) Lancaster, Mr. & Mrs. David (Jean) Locke, Mr. & Mrs. Robert (Tenny) McKnight, Mr. & Mrs. David (Sydney) McClain, Mr. & Mrs. Ed (Jane) Lawwell, Cleo Mayfield, Dr. & Mrs. David (Sandra-Kay) Daniel, Dr. & Mrs. Roy (Bess) Harmon, Mr. & Mrs. Tony (Peggy) Sciotto, Mr. & Mrs. James (Helen) Fleming, Mr. & Mrs. James (Harriet) York, Mr. & Mrs. Stuart (Martha) Schulz, Dr. & Mrs. Bill (Janice) Jernigan, Dr. & Mrs. John (Veronica) Boldt, Dr. & Mrs. Swan (Marianne) Burrus, Dr. & Mrs. Henry (Marty) Callaway, Dr. & Mrs. Carl (Carol) Grote, Mr. & Mrs. Tom (Peggy) Bagley, and Dr. & Mrs. Ed (Vicki) Clement.