Dr. George Dewey Railsback, Jr.

Dr. George Dewey Railsback, Jr., October 22, 1926 – November 15, 2006 Dr. George Dewey Railsback, Jr., passed away Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Services will be Sunday, November 19 at 3:00 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Chapel with a visitation immediately following. Graveside services will be Tuesday, November 21 at 3:00 p.m. at the Aspermont Cemetery in Aspermont, Texas. Dr. Railsback was born on October 22, 1926, in Meridian, Texas. His parents were George D. Railsback, Sr., and Vada Moore Railsback. He grew up and attended school in Aspermont, Texas, where he graduated high school in 1943. He attended Baylor University on a tennis scholarship. As a child, George Dewey Railsback, Jr., knew he wanted to become a doctor and never wavered from that dream. A family physician for 54 years, Dr. Railsback had been practicing in Waco since 1962. His experiences throughout his medical career have ranged from military service to house calls in rural Texas, to his current practice, at Hillcrest MacArthur Clinic. He was a charter fellow and life member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, formerly the American Academy of General Practice, which he helped establish. On April First, Dr. Railsback’s storied career reached a pinnacle; he received the Gold-Headed Cane Award. This prestigious award is given annually to physicians around the world. In Waco, the recipient is chosen by his or her peers, in the medical community as someone who demonstrates professional excellence, personal integrity and good citizenship. The secret ballot process involves members of the McLennan County Medical Society and the McLennan County Medical Alliance. He chose family practice as his specialty because at the time he got out of school, family practitioners were doing it all. He did surgery, obstetrics, and covered the whole field. He liked to do general medicine and surgery, and that’s what he did. He had some extra training in surgery and rotating internship and then took post-graduate courses. He took a year of surgical residency. He treated several generations of the same family. A lot of his patients had become elderly. He said they didn’t start out that way they just got that way with me. He had many patients that he had taken care of for over 40 years. He started out serving our country in the U.S. Navy Hospital Corp during WWII. After that, he went to medical school at Baylor University School of Medicine in Houston. Immediately upon graduation from Medical School, he and his entire class of WWII veterans were called back into the service of the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean War as a Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corp. At that time he won the U.S. Army Tennis Championship in 1952 at Forrest Hills, N.Y. Most of time he was actually attached to the Air Force. He was a regimental surgeon and also did general medicine - some at hospitals and some with the troops. In 1953 Dr. Railsback began private practice. He practiced medicine in Caldwell and Irving before settling down in Waco in 1962. Dr. Joe Smith and Dr. Railsback built a well equipped 16 bed hospital in Caldwell. While he was practicing in Irving, his friends Dr. Bergen Morrison and Dr. Charles DeLaney talked Dr. Railsback into coming to Waco to practice. He enjoyed shotgun sports, hunting, fishing, flying and playing tennis. Dr. Railsback is survived by his wife, Dorothy Hahn Railsback; son, Michael Ray Railsback and wife, Teresa of Plano, Texas; son, George D. Railsback, of Lubbock, Texas; daughter, Pam Moore and husband, Allen Moore of North Richland Hills, Texas; granddaughter, Jessica Moore of Memphis, Tennessee; brother, Jack Moore Railsback and wife, Billie of Iowa Park, Texas. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com. Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey