Dr. Robert Allen Doughty

Dr. Robert Allen Doughty, 76, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his wife and daughters on January 21, 2022. Dr. Doughty--"Dr. Bob" to his patients and neighbors-was raised in Wilmington, DE, son of Franklin and Virginia Doughty. He attended Swarthmore college {'67) and graduated with an MD/PhD in Immunology from the Pearlman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. A pediatric rheumatologist, he served as Director of the Pediatric Residency Program of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Associate Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics before becoming Medical Director at Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children (now Nemours Children's Hospital) in Wilmington, DE from 1986 to 1999. During his time as Medical Director, he notably led Nemours Children's to become a full service children's medical center and established a partnership with Thomas Jefferson University to develop a pediatric residency program. In 1999, he became Vice President for Nemours Physician Practices at the Nemours Foundation based in Jacksonville, FL, where he helped expand high quality medical care for children in Florida and Delaware. Dr. Doughty also developed and ran leadership training programs for medical chief residents nationwide through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, as Senior Scholar for Leadership Development and Experiential Education. Through this program, he trained thousands of young doctors in strategies for compassionate, humanistic leadership. He at times held faculty appointments at University of Pennsylvania and Thomas Jefferson University. Throughout his career, Dr. Bob was beloved by his young patients with auto immune disorders, and by their parents, for his humor, kindness, and willingness to literally get on the floor with them. Dr. Doughty retired to his home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. From there, with wife Cris of over 30 years, he travelled, spoiled his grandchildren, and appreciated Eastern shore life. Throughout his life, he was an Eagle scout who loved cooking, sailing and boating, and bird watching. He was a proud and involved father, and a devoted uncle. He was an active supporter and lifetime member of the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, the Easton Choral Arts Society, and St. Marks United Methodist Church in Easton. Dr. Doughty is survived by his wife, E. Cris {Frederick) Doughty, daughters and sons-in-law (Kimberly Doughty and Warren Smith, and Kristin Doughty and Josh Mankoff), brother Richard Doughty (m. Barbara Doughty) and sister Diane Kirking (m. Bruce Kirking), grandchildren Katherine, Thomas, Natalie, and Noah, as well as five nieces and nephews and their children. Donations in Dr. Doughty's name can be made to Talbot Hospice in Easton, Maryland.