Anna Marie Whetstone

Anna Marie Stahly Whetstone MD passed away peacefully at home in Millersport, Ohio on November 15, 2018, at the age of 92 years.   She was known to all as Dr. Ann. Dr. Ann was born in Hastings, Nebraska on Oct 8, 1926, as the daughter of Grant and Mabel (Getty) Stahly. She was raised in the Clintonville area of Columbus where her father was a faculty member at Ohio State University. She met her husband, Paul Whetstone, when he started attending the family’s church as an Ohio State student. They fell in love when he was invited home regularly for Sunday dinner with the Stahly family, marrying in 1948. Dr. Ann graduated from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1950 ranked first in her class, an achievement she never boasted about. She completed an internship at Mt Carmel and then worked with Dr. Charles Pavey in his obstetrics practice while Paul finished medical school and internship. In an oral history recorded in 2016 for OSU, Dr. Ann recalled: “Dr. Pavey was looking for someone to be his assistant, go with him on deliveries, make his house calls on his patients, to be a pediatrician for the patients that delivered. The head of the OB residency at Mt Carmel called him up and said, ‘I have somebody I think would be real good for you to have as an assistant’. And he gave Dr. Pavey my name and [Pavey] said he wouldn’t consider having a woman as his assistant. ‘Well you should consider this one,’ and talked him into it. We had a wonderful association for three years.”   In 1954, Drs. Ann and Paul decided to take on a medical practice in Millersport. She was the first female physician in Fairfield County. Their first office in the village had an outhouse in the back and a hand pump for running water. Dr. Ann practiced alone in Millersport with two young children for two years while Dr. Paul served in the Navy.   She introduced the use of Pap smears in the county, blood typing on newborns with jaundice, and was one of the most frequent requesters for mammograms.  Together they delivered over 900 babies. She received the Alumni Achievement Award from the OSU College of Medicine in 1985. Both Dr. Ann and Dr. Paul retired from the active practice of medicine in 2000, after 46 years of practice in Millersport. Dr. Ann served for decades as pianist for the Millersport United Methodist Church and taught adult Sunday School class. After retirement, she was elected as a board member for Walnut Township Local School District, gave piano lessons, and volunteered at the school. She loved to travel but never wanted to miss what was happening with her family. She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Paul. She was proud of her four children who all survive her and called them her legacy: Paul (Tina), an avionics professor in Texas; Dave (Linda), a pharmacist and small business owner in Thornville; Judy (Dave Westman), an Ohio State University clinical genetics physician and educator; and Jim (Julie), a family medicine physician who took over their practice in Millersport. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.   The family is indebted to two special friends Dorothy Coyle and Mary Bruce. While her physical health declined in recent years, Dr. Ann’s mental abilities stayed strong and she supported all those she knew and loved with her daily prayers.   When asked to define success, Dr. Ann responded, “I define success as whether you leave things a little better than they were when you came. Or that the lives that you touched are a little bit better off because you’ve been there.” Calling hours will be at the Millersport United Methodist Church, 2310 Refugee St, Millersport, OH on Monday November 19, 2018, from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm. A celebration of life service will occur on Tuesday November 20, 2018, at 11 am with an additional calling hour from 10-11 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Millersport United Methodist Church or to the Little Blessings Preschool at the same address: P.O. Box 296, Millersport, OH 43046. HOSKINSON Funeral and Cremation Service, Kirkersville, is honored to care for Dr. Ann and her family. Log on to www.hoskinsonfuneral.com, to sign a guest register or leave a message of condolence for the Whetstone family.CLICK HERE TO VIEW DR. ANN'S VIDEO TRIBUTE