Dennis Partridge
Richard P. Bell, M.D., a Staunton-born physician and surgeon, trained at the University of Virginia and specialized in surgery before returning to Staunton in 1910. During World War I, he served as a U.S. Army major and chief surgeon overseas, earning a French Order of Officier d’Academie with silver palms. He and Mary Campbell Gratsy raised six children.
Peter M. Dorsch rose from selling newspapers and learning the baker’s trade to become president of Staunton’s Spalding Baking Company. This biography traces his early life, family background, business expansion, Catholic and fraternal affiliations, and descendants.
James Gilmore Watts was a lifelong Glasgow, Virginia, resident who owned Baldwin, Echols and Company from 1940. Beginning as a store clerk in 1902, he became a partner and later purchased the firm. He also served as president of the Bank of Glasgow, Inc., and was active in Masonic organizations and the Presbyterian Church at Falling Spring.
Lawrence Washington Howe Peyton (1872–1949) was a prominent Staunton attorney, Spanish-American War lieutenant, and civic leader. A Virginia Military Institute graduate, he served as president of Staunton Military Academy and the VMI Board of Visitors, while leading local banking and Democratic organizations. He and Margaret Erskine Catlett raised four children.
James B. Pettis, M.D., superintendent of Western State Hospital in Staunton, served in the U.S. Navy during both World Wars and became a prominent Virginia psychiatrist. This biographical account traces his family roots, education, medical career, military service, professional affiliations, church involvement, and family life with his wife, Winifred W. Tinsley, and their two daughters.
Wayt B. Timberlake, Jr. (1908–?) was a Staunton attorney, WWII U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant, and partner in the firm of Timberlake and Smith. A Virginia Military Institute and University of Virginia graduate, he served his community through legal, civic, church, and charitable organizations. He married Susan L. Marshall in 1934 and had three children.
General Alexander McCarrell Patch (1889–1945) was a West Point graduate and U.S. Army general whose career spanned the Mexican Border, World War I, and World War II. He commanded forces in Guadalcanal and southern France, later helping reorganize the Army. The account also records his marriage, children, military family, Episcopal faith, and burial at West Point.
William Burton Adams, born in 1903 in Campton, Georgia, built a career in asphalt construction, eventually leading Adams and Tate and serving as president of Roanoke’s Fuel Oil and Equipment Company. His work included major World War II defense projects across the South. This biography also records his marriage to Martha Duckworth and their daughter, Betty Virginia Adams.
George Francis Clement, C.L.U. (1907–?) was a Roanoke insurance executive who managed the Shenandoah Life Insurance Company’s home office agency. A former railroad accountant, he earned his Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 1946 and served Virginia communities, veterans, and civic organizations. He and Geraldine Beazley married in 1934 and had two children, Donald and Sarah.
William Wayt Gibbs, III, a Staunton native and Virginia Military Institute alumnus, led the Clifton Forge-Waynesboro Telephone Company and expanded its services across the Shenandoah Valley. A dedicated civic leader, music advocate, and chess enthusiast, he supported youth programs and wartime organizations while preserving his family’s longstanding contributions to Virginia’s development.