1921
Dr. Henry
2020
Dr. Henry Stauffer Wentz
March 14, 1921 — January 5, 2020
Lancaster, PA
Dr. Henry Stauffer Wentz died on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at Arbor View at Willow Valley Retirement Community at the age of 98. He was born on March 14, 1921 to Joseph and Arline Stauffer Wentz and named after grandfather, Henry M. Stauffer. He graduated from Upper Leacock High School in 1937, Duke University in 1941, and Jefferson Medical College in September, 1944, where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, an honorary medical fraternity. After an internship and residency at the Lancaster General Hospital he was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the Medical Corps of the Army of the United States.
Dr. Wentz married his college sweetheart, Mary, in 1943 and returned to Lancaster County in May 1948 when he began his solo practice of general (family) medicine in Strasburg. Dr. Wentz was assistant physician in the poliomyelitis unit at the Lancaster General Hospital from 1950 until it closed in 1957 with the advent of the Salk & Sabin vaccines. He helped Dr. Nikitas Zervanos begin the Family Practice Residency Program at the Lancaster General Hospital. He developed the model family practice unit in Quarryville in 1972 and worked with the program from 1971-74. He returned to help establish a group practice at Eastbrook Family Health Center on Route 30 East and retired in 1988 after 40 years of medical practice.
He was chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the Lancaster General Hospital from 1974-78. He had several articles published in medical journals and was a member of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He was president of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society in 1982. He was secretary/treasurer for the Medical and Dental Staff of LGH from 1967-69. He became a pioneer of the American Academy of Family Practice in 1955 and became a charter member of the American Board of Family Practice.
He was a past member of the Lions Club of Strasburg and a member of the Board of Directors of the Lampeter-Strasburg School District from 1960-66. He was a member of the Strasburg Wesley United Methodist Church and held many positions in the church and taught Sunday School. He and his wife were interpreters for the United Methodist Committee on Relief from 1992-94. In 1995 they moved into the Willow Valley Retirement Communities and joined First United Methodist Church in Lancaster.
Dr. Wentz and his wife served in short term service with Care/Medico in Honduras and the Christian Medical Society in the Dominican Republic. Henry has worked at Standing Rock and Fort Belknap Indian Reservations in North Dakota and Montana, respectively.
He wrote Patients Are A Virtue: Practicing Medicine in Pennsylvania Amish Country – a collection of his experiences in the practice of medicine in Strasburg, PA – which was published in 1997. Dr. Wentz served on the 100th Anniversary Committee of the Lancaster General Hospital in 1993 and was chairman of the 150th Anniversary Committee of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society in 1994.
Dr. Wentz was a member of the Peter Wentz Farmstead Society Board of Directors and President of the Edward Hand Medical Heritage Foundation which collected medical artifacts for future display. The Foundation helped the Lancaster General Hospital develop some of their historic displays.
Dr. Wentz is survived by his two children, William H. (Anne) of Cincinnati, OH and Louise W. (Thomas) Aument of Lancaster. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Jennifer (Tim), Janine (Dan), Brandon (Michelle), and Cameron (Amanda), 3 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Mary, with whom he celebrated 75 years of marriage.
The family would like to thank the staff on the 3rd floor of the Glen and the Arbor View staff for their supportive and nurturing care while a resident on your floor. He always commented about how much he enjoyed and appreciated all the staff.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend a Memorial Service in the Johnson Auditorium at Willow Valley North, 600 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster, PA on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 11:00 A.M. The family will greet friends from 10:00 A.M. until the time of the service. Interment will be private in Greenwood Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Mathias Brunner Nursing Education Fund, 600 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster, PA 17602 (Attn: Danielle Geyer), Hospice and Community Care, 685 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601, or Lampeter-Strasburg Education Foundation, 1600 Book Road, Lancaster, PA 17602.
Dr. Wentz married his college sweetheart, Mary, in 1943 and returned to Lancaster County in May 1948 when he began his solo practice of general (family) medicine in Strasburg. Dr. Wentz was assistant physician in the poliomyelitis unit at the Lancaster General Hospital from 1950 until it closed in 1957 with the advent of the Salk & Sabin vaccines. He helped Dr. Nikitas Zervanos begin the Family Practice Residency Program at the Lancaster General Hospital. He developed the model family practice unit in Quarryville in 1972 and worked with the program from 1971-74. He returned to help establish a group practice at Eastbrook Family Health Center on Route 30 East and retired in 1988 after 40 years of medical practice.
He was chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the Lancaster General Hospital from 1974-78. He had several articles published in medical journals and was a member of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He was president of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society in 1982. He was secretary/treasurer for the Medical and Dental Staff of LGH from 1967-69. He became a pioneer of the American Academy of Family Practice in 1955 and became a charter member of the American Board of Family Practice.
He was a past member of the Lions Club of Strasburg and a member of the Board of Directors of the Lampeter-Strasburg School District from 1960-66. He was a member of the Strasburg Wesley United Methodist Church and held many positions in the church and taught Sunday School. He and his wife were interpreters for the United Methodist Committee on Relief from 1992-94. In 1995 they moved into the Willow Valley Retirement Communities and joined First United Methodist Church in Lancaster.
Dr. Wentz and his wife served in short term service with Care/Medico in Honduras and the Christian Medical Society in the Dominican Republic. Henry has worked at Standing Rock and Fort Belknap Indian Reservations in North Dakota and Montana, respectively.
He wrote Patients Are A Virtue: Practicing Medicine in Pennsylvania Amish Country – a collection of his experiences in the practice of medicine in Strasburg, PA – which was published in 1997. Dr. Wentz served on the 100th Anniversary Committee of the Lancaster General Hospital in 1993 and was chairman of the 150th Anniversary Committee of the Lancaster City and County Medical Society in 1994.
Dr. Wentz was a member of the Peter Wentz Farmstead Society Board of Directors and President of the Edward Hand Medical Heritage Foundation which collected medical artifacts for future display. The Foundation helped the Lancaster General Hospital develop some of their historic displays.
Dr. Wentz is survived by his two children, William H. (Anne) of Cincinnati, OH and Louise W. (Thomas) Aument of Lancaster. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Jennifer (Tim), Janine (Dan), Brandon (Michelle), and Cameron (Amanda), 3 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Mary, with whom he celebrated 75 years of marriage.
The family would like to thank the staff on the 3rd floor of the Glen and the Arbor View staff for their supportive and nurturing care while a resident on your floor. He always commented about how much he enjoyed and appreciated all the staff.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend a Memorial Service in the Johnson Auditorium at Willow Valley North, 600 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster, PA on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 11:00 A.M. The family will greet friends from 10:00 A.M. until the time of the service. Interment will be private in Greenwood Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Mathias Brunner Nursing Education Fund, 600 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster, PA 17602 (Attn: Danielle Geyer), Hospice and Community Care, 685 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601, or Lampeter-Strasburg Education Foundation, 1600 Book Road, Lancaster, PA 17602.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dr. Henry Stauffer Wentz, please visit our flower store.
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