RICHMOND, Va. -- As news of the July 7 death of beloved Richmond pediatrician Dr. Carolyn Boone spread through the community, former patients, their parents, friends, family, and nurses flocked to Facebook to share their memories and condolences. Boone, 70, worked as a pediatrician in Richmond for nearly 40 years.
Sharon Hunnicutt, who worked for Dr. Boone for over 35 years, was her nurse, office manager, and most importantly, her right hand. She said Dr. Boone was a beautiful person simply because of what she wanted to instill in her young patients.
“She chose to work in the inner city because she wanted to show the patients, you know, you don't have to have money to be successful,” Hunnicutt said. “You can be the poorest of the poor, but still come out if you put the work in with hard work and determination. You can be anything that you want to be.”
Dr. Boone's impact was generational.
She was a doctor to children born in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of her patients grew into parents who brought their children to her Richmond practice.
Sequoia Ross, was a former patient of Dr. Boone's, and she made sure her children became patients as well.
In the more than 30 years Ross knew Dr. Boone, she said one thing has been constant when it came to the location of her practice.
"She always stayed on the bus line. She wanted people to be able to get to her, so she wasn't trying to go all the way out in the West End," Ross said. "Most of her offices were smack dab across from a bus stop or very close to so there wasn't a lot of walking. It was intentional. She was intentional."
Shapall King, whose daughters were both patients of Dr. Boone, said her last conversation with the pediatrician was a congratulatory one.
“The last time I talked to her, I told her I graduated with my Master's. And she was so excited about it. And it just made me feel comfortable and loving at the time. So it just really broke me down when I heard about [her death]," King said.
Kevin Starlings was a patient of Dr. Boone's in the 1990s when he was a child, and decades later, so were his children.
Starlings reminisced on the warmth he always felt when he walked into her waiting room.
“She was more than a doctor, to me, my son, and countless other Black children in Richmond. Anytime you went into her office, it was always that you were greeted with that smile," Starlings said.
Dr. Boone's patients, no matter their age, were also greeted with a wide array of books when they walked into her waiting room.
In 2014, CBS 6's Greg McQuade spoke with Dr. Boone about her childhood affinity for reading, and why it was important to pass that on to her patients.
“I grew up very poor, but what I had was books,” Dr Boone said. “[My foster mother] believed in me. She said to pass it on. I hope I’m passing it on. I think I am."
To King, what stood out about Dr. Boone was the fact that she was in the field for one reason.
"I'm gonna tell you she did not do it for the money," King said. "You can tell she did it for her passion. It's gonna be really hard to find another pediatrician that you can say the same thing about."
She said Dr. Boone also went above and beyond with not just her patients and their parents, but with her nursing team too.
“A lot of the relationships she built were within the community. A lot of them started with her nurses that were there because she made sure she employed African-American young women, teaching them how to draw blood, just teaching them step-by-step and actually giving them a chance.”
A public viewing for Dr. Boone will be held on Friday, July 19 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Scott’s Funeral Home at 115 East Brookland Park Boulevard in Richmond. A funeral service will follow on Saturday, July 20.
She is survived by her husband, son, daughter, granddaughter, and a host of siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices. Email your memories of Dr. Boone to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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