Dr. George S. Roulston, D.O. Obituary (1927

Surrounded by loved ones at home, George S. Roulston, D.O., passed peacefully from this earth to heaven, on August 24, 2022. He was 95. Born May 24, 1927, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to George A Roulston, D.O. and Anne Elizabeth (Funke) Roulston, George grew up a true Wyoming boy. He had a variety of jobs, such as working on a fox and mink farm, loading lake ice onto freight cars, unloading fresh vegetables, working a 63,000-acre Hereford cattle ranch, and disassembling and repairing engine parts for United Airlines. His father taught him the joy of hiking in the mountains, and his mother the love of photography. In junior high he was a Boy Scout and proud member of the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps, playing bugle and traveling to other towns for competitions. At Cheyenne High School he joined JROTC, becoming an expert marksman in the school's indoor shooting range, and winning many medals and ribbons as a championship swimmer. Two months shy of graduation, he enlisted in the Navy in April of 1945. The Navy sent him to medical corpsman school to prepare him to go into battle with Marines in the Pacific. When the Japanese surrendered, he was sent instead to Newport, Rhode Island and Naples, Italy to treat wounded Navy sailors and Marines. After discharge, George enrolled at the University of Wyoming and joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He worked summers as a cook at the universitys Geology Camp, meeting geologists from around the world. As a result, he developed a life-long fascination with geology, sharing it with friends and family on hikes by pointing out formations and explaining how they came to be. George pursued his medical degree at Des Moines Still College of Osteopathy and Surgery in Iowa. During his clerkship at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, he met his wife-to-be, Delila Howard. Thus started a 68-year love affair. In August of 1955 he began his medical practice in Yakima, Washington. He was a caring family physician for 31 years, becoming the first D.O. to have admitting privileges at all three hospitals in Yakima. George combined his medical training with his love of outdoor adventure. He summitted Mt. Rainier seven times, always carrying his emergency medical kit. He was a member of Central Washington Mountain Rescue and a White Pass Ski Patrol doctor for many years. He was a leader on the Sunfair Mt. Adams climbs in the 70s, introducing many people to mountaineering through morning and evening training sessions at Franklin Park, and serving as a climbing guide and doctor during the climbs themselves. In 1978 he became the trip doctor for a trekking group in Nepal for 6 weeks. He later returned with Delila for a second bite of the Himalayas and the two continued to trek in Peru and Japan. These trips, and later ones, he captured in stunning photographs. He was truly a renaissance man. An amateur cartoonist, he communicated with people by drawing for them and inviting them to draw for him wherever he traveled. He also excelled in watercolor and wood carvings. In retirement, he and Delila traveled extensively. They volunteered at Acadia National Park, in Maine, and Saguaro National Park, in Tucson, Arizona, for over 15 years. They were members of First Presbyterian Church in Yakima and Christ Presbyterian in Tucson, and later of Englewood Christian Church, in Yakima. George also served in Rotary and Lions, on the YoungLife Adult Committee, volunteered with and served on the board of Planned Parenthood, and for many years volunteered at the Yakima Valley Museum. George is survived by his wife, Delila Roulston, their children, Jim Roulston (Daria), Will Roulston, and Anne Correia (Tim), grandchildren, Sara Cloyd (Jake), Tania Roulston, Andy Roulston (Nicole), Jonathan Roulston, Nico Roulston (Heather), Stephen Roulston (Jessica), and six great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Joanne (Roulston) Nixon. A Celebration of Life will be held September 24, 2022 at 11:00am, at Englewood Christian Church, in Yakima. Friends, family, former patients, and colleagues are invited to attend. The family also invites you to send notes of remembrance with anecdotes of how George impacted your life, so we can include them in a memorial book or read them aloud at the celebration. Notes can be sent to [emailprotected]. In lieu of flowers or other memorial gifts, contributions may be made payable to the Yakima Valley Museum or Pacific Northwest University and mailed in care of Brookside Funeral Home (PO Box 1267, Moxee, WA 98936), who is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com. Memorial Service Englewood Christian Church Saturday, September 24, 2022 11:00 AM 511 N 44th Ave Yakima, WA 98908