Richard C. Waterbury

Richard C. Waterbury M.D. Dr. Richard Waterbury, 69, died on Monday, November 24, 2008 at his home in Georgetown, Texas. He is and will be greatly missed by his family and many friends and colleagues. Dr. Waterbury was born and raised in northwest Iowa. He earned a B.S. in Zoology from Iowa State University in 1961 and an M.D. from the University of Iowa in 1965. Dr. Waterbury served in the United States Navy from 1965 to 1972, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Following a Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology at Los Angeles Children's Hospital in 1969, Dr. Waterbury served a year in Vietnam on the Navy hospital ships, USS Repose and USS Sanctuary. Dr. Waterbury joined the Minneapolis Children's Medical Center staff in 1972, rising to the position of Chief of Anesthesiology. He was instrumental in establishing the outpatient surgical center, Children's West, serving as its Medical Director until his retirement in 2000. He loved caring for children and they loved him. It has been said that Dr. Waterbury did not simply practice medicine; he practiced the art of medicine. Following his retirement, Dr. Waterbury and his wife, Diana, began spending their summers in northern Minnesota and winters in the Texas hill country where he said he was "attempting to learn to play golf." Dr. Waterbury was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Mary Waterbury. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Diana; daughter Kim Waterbury and her husband, Peter van der Lugt, of Woodbury, Minnesota; daughter Jill Rutherford and her husband, Shan, of Austin, Texas; daughter Laura Swanson and her husband, David, of Clive, Iowa; grandchildren James Rutherford, Nathan Swanson and Ragan Swanson; and step-granddaughter, Corinn van der Lugt. Dr. Waterbury is also survived by his three sisters, Carol Rollie, Janet Pauley and Mary Beth Brandenburg, their families and his mother-in-law, Mabel Nelson. A memorial service is being held on Saturday, November 29 at 11:00 a.m. at Wellspring United Methodist Church in Georgetown, Texas. A Minnesota memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be sent "In Memory of Dr. Waterbury" to: Children's West, Attn: Jane Price, 6050 Clearwater Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343.