I had the privilege of attending the memorial service of Dr. Edwin C. Womble (1915-2008) today. Not surprisingly, Montpelier Presbyterian Church in the tiny town of Wagram (population 500) in Scotland County, NC was packed. My sister Ann had emailed me on Saturday telling me he had passed away that morning. "What an icon he was -- so many stories and memories," she wrote. Indeed, there are probably hundreds of stories to be told about this unique individual. I hope you'll add yours in the comments section below.
Early in my journalism career, I learned that there are many unusual people in our midst, worth writing about or profiling. Perhaps I came to this realization easily because I grew up in a small town full of unusual people. These people aren't world-famous or nationally known, but they have nonetheless led extraordinary lives in what appear to be ordinary circumstances. Dr. Womble was one such person. I profiled him for the Fayetteville Times newspaper back in the late 1970s. During the almost 40 years of his medical practice in Scotland County, he made five to 15 house calls a week, in addition to holding regular office hours, making hospital rounds, delivering babies, attending to prisoners at the local correctional facility, and participating in myriad civic causes.
In Scotland County, with higher than average poverty and unemployment, Dr. Womble treated people whether they had money or not. He lived modestly himself, and it sometimes seemed he ran a medical mission more than he did a medical practice.
It was not at all uncommon for him to stay up all Saturday night traveling around Scotland County delivering babies. One weekend, he told me, in a 36-hour period, he made nine deliveries -- all but one in the mothers' homes.
I'll never forget the time seven members of my family contracted a stomach virus between nine p.m. and 10 a.m. Dr. Womble visited the house several times that night, each time toting his black bag in one hand and a glucose bottle in the other. While he was there, he asked to see what each of us had gotten for Christmas, and fixed my broken tape recorder.
Occasionally, patients and practical jokes abused him. One morning before dawn, he received a call from a hysterical man who claimed he was dying. The man hung up the telephone before Dr. Womble could take down his name and address. Since the good doctor knew nearly everybody in Wagram, he figured it wouldn't be too difficult to locate the ailing man by cruising the town until he found a lighted house. After an hour of wandering, Dr. Womble gave up and returned to bed.
Later that afternoon, a local citizen notorious for practical jokes called him to ask him why he was wandering around town at such an ungodly hour of the morning, then chortled, revealing himself as the jokester.
What are your memories of Dr. Womble?
Drill Deeper:
- My mother, Lillian Secrest Buie, wrote a humorous tribute to Dr. Womble when he retired in 1985. I included it in the book Teacher of Our Town. I've now posted that tribute online here.
- Here's the Fayetteville Observer obituary, the Legacy.com guest book, and the memory tributes at McDougald Funeral Home's web site. Dr. Womble was preceded in death by his wife Lena, for whom there are also many tributes at McDougald.com.
- More tributes can be found at the Laurinburg Exchange website, beneath Dr. Womble's obituary.
