Irene Field a good, faithful servant
Last week Salisbury lost another of its legends, Mrs. Bob “Irene” Fields was 106 years old when she passed away on Thursday, May 22, at Salisbury’s Trinity Oaks Assisted Living Center.
Many citizens in Salisbury and Rowan County remember Irene as a career nurse and the beloved wife of the late Dr. Bob L. Field. Working together as a team for most of their married life, Irene and Dr. Bobby, as he was affectionately known by many of their patients, had a family medical practice on the second floor of the old downtown building in the 100 block of West Innes Street. The Post’s courtyard now occupies this site.
Irene along with nurse Polly Boswell manned the office where they saw thousands of patients, young and old, for more than 50 years. Dr. Bobby and Irene made house calls to see many of their patients when home care was common for many years without transportation.
Along with over 10,000 other Rowan County citizens, many of us are proud to have been delivered by Dr. Bobby and Irene at the original Rowan Memorial Hospital when maternity stays of two weeks or more were not uncommon.
In addition to serving as our family doctor and nurse, Irene and Dr. Bobby also became lifelong friends with many of their patients and their families. Irene even posted photographs of all her children on the walls of their office, even though they had no children of their own. They did name two of their first cats after me and my younger brother — an honor we would never forget.
Although confined to a bed and wheelchair for the past several years, Irene’s mind remained sharp until age began to take its toll. God blessed Irene with over 106 years on this earth.
Salisbury has indeed lost a legend. God speed, Irene.
— Ronnie Smith
Salisbury
On humane issue
Governor McCrory recently accepted an award for his wife Ann alongside Humane Society state director Kim Alboum. After the presentation he outlined the plan to regulate dog breeders and to move the state’s animal welfare section, which inspects county and municipal animal shelters and regulates euthanasia, from the Agriculture Department Law Enforcement Division to the Department of Public Safety.
Announcement of this plan wins the bad timing award of the week hands-down. The following day, news broke that HSUS and its co-defendants, including two employees, agreed to pay $15.75 million to settle a lawsuit filed against them under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
The suit stems from litigation filed by animal rights activists, including an HSUS affiliate, against the owner of the Ringling Bros. Circus, Feld Entertainment. Activists claimed that the circus was unlawfully harming elephants in its care, and their key witness was a former Feld handler.
It was discovered that the witness had been paid and had lied to the court. Feld then filed suit under RICO, alleging bribery, illegal witness payments, and other wrongdoings.
The governor and first lady may want to rethink their new alliance with HSUS. North Carolina deserves better. Our dogs deserve better.
— Jimmy Wagoner
Mount Ulla