Long-time Carson City doctor dies

Services will be Saturday for Dr. Richard "Doc" Grundy, a pioneer physician in Carson City who died Friday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 72.

Dr. Grundy delivered an estimated 3,500 babies, pioneered Northern Nevada's emergency medical technician program and helped in many medical crises, large and small.

"He was an honorable human being who I was very fond of and a great asset to the community," Carson City resident and friend Bill Bliss said, remembering lots of good times and laughs. "He had a tremendous amount of energy. I wish there were more Dick Grundys in this world."

A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Carson City at 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by a reception in the church social hall. The family suggests contributions be made to the First Presbyterian Church or to a charity.

Carson-Tahoe Hospital had just 35 beds, and there were just a few other doctors in Carson City when Dr. Grundy started practicing in Carson City in 1959.

"He was a good doctor. He knew his stuff, and he tried to take good care of his patients," Dr. Henry Stewart said, noting that he remembered when he, Grundy, Richard Petty, and King were the only physicians in town. Each ran the emergency room for a week at a time, and they helped each other.

"Dr. Grundy was right there if needed him. He was a wonderful fellow." he said.

Grundy met local physicians Dr. Hovenden, and Dr. Petty while working as a pharmaceuticals representative before medical school, and later joined them in their practice, which is known today as Carson Medical Group.

The practice flourished, but like so many general practitioners Grundy couldn't break away from his work. By 1975, he was ready for a change.

He became an emergency-room physician at the hospital and many credit him with initiating and organizing Northern Nevada's system of pre-hospital emergency care.

"Grundy was a full-time practicing physician involved in many facets of patient care at the time the emergency rooms were set up in the new hospital. He was almost always around," wrote Willa Oldham in her book "Carson-Tahoe Hospital, the Story of a Caring Community."

He was active in training emergency medical technicians in Carson City, Douglas and Alpine counties, served as chief of staff at Carson-Tahoe Hospital for three terms and was director of the critical care unit at the hospital for seven years.

He was a charter member of the Lahontan Basin Medical Society, and a member and president of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners. He was also director of the coronary care unit at Carson-Tahoe Hospital.

In 1968 he began a series of part-time administrative positions with the state medical insurance systems and the public employees' retirement system and in 1994 received Nevada's Distinguished Physician Award from the Nevada State Medical Association.

Dr. Grundy graduated from Baylor University Medical School in Houston, Texas, and served an internship at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

He is survived by his wife Nancy, brother George of Oklahoma City, sister Dorothea Petrie of Los Angeles, son Thomas of McKinleyville, California, daughter Susan Grundy Ledoux of Green Valley, Calif., daughter Anne Carvalho of Sacramento, two grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

The Carson City Cremation and Burial Society is in charge of arrangements. z