Dateline: August 22, 2002

County mourns loss of longtime doctor 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Services were held here Friday for Dr. Richard L. “Rip” Gilkey, a man who had served the people of Donley County as their family doctor for nearly 40 years.

Gilkey died in Amarillo last Wednesday, August 14, 2002, at the age of 72.

During his life, Gilkey was recognized as a public servant and as a gentle man with a healing touch. His colleague, Nurse Onita Thomas, said in a 1996 interview that it was Gilkey’s extra touch and the wink of an eye that made him a favorite of the people he treated.

“He is kind and caring, and he knows everybody’s family and treats the person as a family member and not just as a statistic,” she said.

Gilkey himself looked upon his relationship with those he treated in terms of friendship.

“I don’t have patients. I have friends,” Gilkey said in a 1996 interview. “I want them to think of me as a friend.”

Indeed, that was exactly how the community thought of him. His comments were echoed Friday as the Methodist Church filled with the friends Gilkey had made over the years, and Pastor James Ivey Edwards recalled how each Sunday, Gilkey had greeted him saying, “Hello, my friend.”

Former local pastor Terry Tamplen also spoke of the doctor’s sense of humor, his love of his family, and his love of learning.

“You can’t yearn for yesterday,” Gilkey told his interviewer. “You have to stay current with the times.”

Gilkey, who was born in Garnett, Kansas, and raised in Topeka, retired in 1996 and reflected on his career with no regrets.

“I’m most proud of the fact that I have been able to be a family practitioner in a small town and [to] practice quality medicine and do the thing I love doing,” he said. “I believe I’ve made a contribution to my community.”

Gilkey also had a record of public service. He was on the Board of Regents of Clarendon College for 22 years and served as its chairman for four years.  He served as Clarendon’s mayor in the late 1960s and was very active in the First United Methodist Church of Clarendon, where he served as Chairman of the Administrative Board and in many other capacities.  One of his favorites was the Kairos Prison Ministries.

In 1997, the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce named Dr. Gilkey recipient of the Saints’ Roost Lifetime Achievement Award.

Beyond his devotion to his community and family, he enjoyed piloting airplanes. He served as flight surgeon in the Navy and was assigned to the Marines.  He was a member of the Texas Flying Physicians Association, serving as Secretary-Treasurer.

Survivors include his wife, Jane, of 39 years; four children, Melinda McAnear and husband, Ronnie, of Clarendon; Tina Putnam and husband, David, of Austin; Jim Moore and wife, Karen, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and John Moore and wife, Cathy, of Waxahachie, Texas; nine grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.