Funeral services set for family practice doctor known for her compassion

Jul. 4—Funeral services have been set for family practitioner Dr. Sally Abbott, who died last week.

Abbott, 82, died on Thursday after a lengthy battle with cancer. Visitation is set for July 9 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Jackson Lytle & Lewis Life Celebration Center and a service is scheduled for July 10 at 10 a.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church.

Longtime friend and former colleague Karen Detrick described Abbott as a compassionate person who people loved both as a friend and physician. She said people from all over Springfield made the drive to her Northridge practice to see her.

"I saw her working with people; she was compassionate [and] she never turned anybody away," Detrick said. "She was very intelligent. She kept up on all the latest medical information. We've lost a great person and a dear friend."

John Detrick, who was a friend and patient of Abbott, said the doctor was a "unique lady" who was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Virginia medical school. She then interned at Mercy Health — Springfield, and ended up liking Clark County, so she stayed and started a family practice that she ran for more than 50 years, he said.

Abbott was president of the Clark County Medical Society, Ohio Family Practice Association and the St. John's Lutheran Church Council, John Detrick said. She was a Sunday school teacher and a physician for the Clark County Children's Home and St. John's Center nursing home.

The doctor was one of the first to work with AIDS patients in Clark County, John Detrick said.

"She was dedicated to caring for people," Detrick said.

Abbott was a member of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. According to her bio on its website, she received numerous thank-you letters for her work.

"Just a few weeks ago, I received a thank you note from a patient, Davis, whom I saved from death 30 years ago as a victim of AIDS. My practice was the only one that would take AIDS patients, as my colleagues warned me that taking an AIDS patient would cause other patients to leave the practice," Abbott wrote. " Instead, I was rewarded by a thank you note 30 years later."

The doctor described the ability to "enter another person's life and become almost like a member of their family" on the website, saying that she is often thanked for her impact on people and was "only doing (her) job."