John David Fletcher

John David Fletcher, 87, of Biltmore Lake passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at his home with his family by his side. Born November 19, 1930 in Bristol, VA, he was a son of the late John Harrison and Mary Louise Byrd Fletcher. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a brother, James Harrison Fletcher. During the Korean War, he proudly served in the U.S. Army and worked in the Pentagon. He was an alumnus of Emory and Henry College in Emory, VA where he received a B.A., U.N.C. in Chapel Hill, NC where he received a M.P.H., and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA where he received a M.D. He also passed the American Board of Pediatrics exam becoming a Diplomate for the organization. After his residencies at both University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH and U.N.C. Chapel Hill, he went on to open a private practice in Greenville, NC. While in Greenville, he took a position with East Carolina University Medical School as Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics. In 1970, he was appointed Regional Pediatric Consultant to the N.C. Board of Health, and later became the Public Health Director of Durham County where he remained until his retirement in 1996. Serving the communities in which he lived was a priority of his and he was able to do so as a former member of both the Durham and Asheville branches of the Rotary Club, former member of the Triangle Bonsai Society in Durham, member of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society in Asheville, Men’s Garden Club in Asheville, and as a docent of the N.C. Arboretum. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Surviving are his devoted wife of 53 years, Barbara Caldwell Fletcher; daughters: Catherine Fletcher Kerns and her spouse, William, of Richmond, VA, Sarah Fletcher Keane and her spouse, Dan, of Kernersville, NC, and Karen Fletcher Harvie and her spouse, Chris, of Midlothian, VA; grandchildren: Daniel Fletcher Keane and Jessica Lynne Keane both of Kernersville, NC, Julia Grace Kerns and Sophia Cameron Kerns both of Richmond, VA, Alyssa Carrington Harvie and Virginia Blair Harvie both of Midlothian, VA; sister-in-law, Sue Stockton Fletcher of Wise, VA; and niece, Elizabeth Byrd Fletcher of Hampton, VA. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the First Presbyterian Church in Asheville with Rev. Dr. Patrick Johnson officiating. A private burial will be held in the Memorial Garden of the First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Homeless Ministries of the First Presbyterian Church, 40 Church St, Asheville, NC 28801; CarePartners Hospice, PO Box 25338, Asheville 28813; or the N.C. Arboretum, Bonsai Exhibit, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC 28806.

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