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The ADVANCE, March 22, 2023/Page 12A
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WITH...
Bill Bedingfield
Bedingfields
Invested in Growth
Of Community for
Generations
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Bill Bedingfield jokes
that he is the black sheep
of the family — not be
cause he is notorious in any
way but because he chose
a different career path than
might have been expected.
Both his grandfather and
father were physicians, and
once, Bill thought he might
pursue medicine.
Bill and his three
brothers have had success
ful careers, but not one of
them is a doctor. One of
Bill’s brothers is a Vidalia
pharmacist and another is
a barrister/judge (lawyer)
in London. One brother is
a published author and ten
ured professor with a Ph.D.
now living in Minnesota.
Bill followed his heart and
chose a career in whole
sale management and fi
nance. “I love numbers,” he
quipped unabashedly.
All of the Bedingfield
boys grew up in Vidalia,
where their father worked
at a hospital he co-found-
ed. Bill, who served as the
City of Vidalia’s Director
of Finances/City Clerk be
fore he retired in 2021, has
rich memories of the com
munity in which he and his
family have been invested
for several generations.
The Bedingfield boys
were born in Macon be
cause their father just did
not want to have to deliver
his own children. Bill’s
mother, the former Miss
Martha Munn, was a native
of Macon, and Bill’s Dad
knew an excellent doc
tor there whom he trusted
with his precious wife and
children.
Bill treasures fond
memories about his par
ents. His father, Dr. Walter
Hilbert Bedingfield, Sr.,
was from Laurens County,
as was his grandfather, Dr.
Walter Eli Bedingfield, for
whom Bill (William Eli
Bedingfield) was named.
Both Bill’s father and
grandfather were revered
VEGAS — Bill and Ann are shown enjoying Las Vegas in one of their many trips togeth
er. The former Ann Hopkins met Bill when she was 15, and after she graduated from
high school, they dated and married in 1979,
Both Bill’s paternal
grandfather and his grand
father’s brother were doc
tors. “The (Bedingfield)
family came from North
Carolina. One brother
went to Dexter and the
other went to Rentz (Bill’s
grandfather).” Bill said the
medical field was well rep
resented in the Bedingfield
family. “There were more
doctors in my family than
you could shake a stick at.”
And there still are. Bill’s
first cousin, Carl Beding
field, is a pediatrician in
Dublin. Andy Bedingfield,
a distant cousin, is a sur
geon in Dublin. Bill admit
ted with a chuckle that it is
safe to say he is related to
all Bedingfields in this area
and well beyond.
Walter Hilbert, Jr.,
(Hibby), Bill’s oldest
brother, owns Vidalia
Pharmacy. The business is
BROTHERS — From left, Bill, David, Hibby and Sidney
gather for a photo on the rare occasion of being to
gether. This event was Kate Bedingfield's wedding in
Washington, D.C,
HEALTHCARE PIONEER —
Dr. Walter Hilbert Beding
field, Sr„ was a revered
community physician,
just like his father, Walter
Eli Bedingfield of Laurens
County. Both made house
calls throughout the area
in the early days of medi
cal care.
“country” doctors who pi
oneered healthcare in their
respective communities.
After graduating from
the Medical College of
Georgia, Bill’s father re
ceived a fellowship to be
a diagnostician but had
completed only about a
year of advanced studies
when World War II broke
out. “He went to Texas for
six weeks for training, was
shipped overseas, and spent
almost two years serving
as a captain and medical
officer with the 82nd Air
borne behind enemy lines
setting up hospitals under
MOTHER — Martha Munn,
a native of Macon who
married a busy Vidalia-
based doctor in 1947,
brought up four sons who
would go on to pursue
successful careers — but
not one of them chose to
go into medicine like their
Dad and Grandfather.
enemy fire. He won a Silver
Star for his bravery.” Bill re
called that his father never
talked about his military
service, and it was not un
til years after his death that
the son of one of the doc
tor’s fellow service mem
bers shared photos and
information about those
traumatic years.
Bill’s grandfather died
before he was born, but
he heard plenty of stories
about him from his own
father. “You couldn’t make
a good living as a doctor
in those days,” Bill said of
his grandfather, “so he also
farmed. My Dad would tell
how his father would have
to hook up a horse and
buggy to go on house calls
in the county.” Bill reflect
ed on his own experiences
of helping his father make
early morning rounds. “I
remember my Dad getting
me up about 2 or 3 o’clock
in the morning when I was
about 13, and he would let
me drive out into the coun
tryside on house calls. That
is how I learned to drive.”
located in the building that
was the original hospital
Bill’s Dad built with H.I.
Conner after World War II.
“Dr. Conner married Dad’s
sister, Eloise, and talked my
Dad into coming to Vida
lia.” Conner was from the
Glenwood area. “I grew up
going down to that hospi
tal and, the nurses and staff
would look after me. Dad
told the ladies working in
cafeteria, ‘Don’t give him
any Coca-Cola,’ and the
minute he turned his back,
they would.”
That one-story, red
brick hospital and the two
physicians who practiced
there were hugely appre
ciated by the community
when medical services
were not as accessible as
they are now, and in fact,
those passing through
the community who were
treated at the Vidalia hos
pital had high praise for the
care they received there.
“We were contacted a cou
ple of years ago by a man
in Orlando, Florida, whose
mom and dad were on va
cation in 1958 and passed
through Lyons. They were
hit head on by a truck, and
the woman went through
the windshield. A couple
driving past the wreck
picked up the injured
woman and brought her
to the hospital in Vidalia
where she was nursed back
to health.”
The injured woman
was at the Vidalia hospital
for an extensive time and
her husband visited every
day, so they both got to
know the facility and its
staff very well. Apparently,
the couple never forgot
those who cared for them
or the hospital. “Every holi
day they (the injured wom
an’s family) got together,
she would talk about Dr.
Bedingfield who saved
her life,” Bill said he was
told. Recently, the woman
passed away and her son
said he wanted to reach out
and try to find out who Dr.
Bedingfield was. Dr. Bed
ingfield had passed away in
1993, but the woman’s son
who visited the Beding
fields in Vidalia, provided
letters from his parents
praising the hospital and
doctors as well as a photo
of Dr. Bedingfield made on
the back side of the hospi
tal in 1958.
Siblings
Of the four Bedingfield
brothers, Hibby is the old
est, Bill is next, then David
and Sidney. When he was
younger, Bill’s hair was red,
as was his brother Sidney’s.
Bill thinks the genes came
from his mother’s mother,
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