In Memory of - Bishop Syme

The bishop of the Colonial Ward Single Ward (back in the day) died this past week. He was energetic, caring, and a great example to all of us.

Since these things don't stay available for long, I copy/pasted comments about him down from The Washington Post article for personal record keeping.


Robert Haldane Syme Jr., 87
Longtime Obstetrician Was Active in Mormon Church


Friday, June 12, 2009
Robert Haldane Syme Jr., 87, an obstetrician and gynecologist, died of sepsis June 8 at Inova Alexandria Hospital, the birthplace of most of the 6,000 babies he delivered during his 50-year career.

Dr. Syme practiced in Alexandria most of his life. In retirement, he served an 18-month-long, full-time medical mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine.
He was born in Rock Springs, Wyo., and graduated from the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He graduated from George Washington University's medical school in 1947.

During medical school, he worked at Gawler's Funeral Home in the District, transporting corpses. He didn't have a car, so he and a fellow medical student once picked up their blind dates in the mortuary's hearse. Both couples later married.

After graduation, Dr. Syme interned and served his residency in Salt Lake City hospitals. After his residency, he served in the U.S. Air Force in Texas, then returned to the Washington area. Within a couple of years, he started a practice.

As a member of the Alexandria Ward of the Mormon Church in the mid-1950s, he helped construct the Alexandria Chapel on King Street, the second Mormon Church building in Virginia. He later served as bishop of the Colonial Ward, a large adult congregation in Northern Virginia. At the time of his death, he was on the 12-member High Council of the Mount Vernon Stake.
Dr. Syme retired in 1997 but kept his medical licenses active and attended general rounds at Inova Fairfax Hospital to keep up on the latest medical developments.

Dr. Syme bought a home, formerly owned by CBS newsman Eric Sevareid, that had been designed by Charles Goodman, architect of the Hollin Hills neighborhood and the original Reagan National Airport building.

Dr. Syme enjoyed domestic travel in his motor home in addition to his trips abroad.
His first wife, Suzanne Burgess Syme, died in 1994.

Survivors include his second wife, Miriam Darden Arnold "Suzi" Syme of Alexandria; a son from his first marriage, Robert Haldane Syme III of Virginia Beach; and two stepchildren, Vicki Lee Vargason and Hugh Leon Arnold of Boise, Idaho.