Richard W. Blide, M.D. passed away on Dec. 3, 2023, at the age of 93. He was born in Rochester, N.Y., on Dec. 21, 1929, to Agnes Rylander and David F. Blide. He is survived by his sister, Jean Barney, daughter, Ann Leslie Vert, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
He graduated from the University of Rochester and Albany Medical College, and served a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary diseases at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md. He practiced academic medicine and pulmonology at the same institution for seven years and then became medical director at the Will Rogers Hospital for six years. Subsequently, he practiced preventative medicine at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. Then until his retirement in 1999, he practiced physical medicine in Dallas and Lubbock, Texas.
He loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking and skiing with his wife, Patti, especially when they lived in Colorado. He also wrote four books, one about his political life in Pagosa Springs, Colo., “Heartfelt: A Memoir of Political Intrigue, Passion, and Perseverance,” where he was instrumental in getting the first hospital in the area built. His other three books — “Alien Threat,” “Botland” and “Xrypta” (in press) — were part of a science-fiction trilogy.
Dr. Blide is to be interred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery on Dec. 27, 2023.
A reception will be held at a later date.
