[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16984-16985]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. ROLAND CHAMBLEE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE DONNELLY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. DONNELLY of Indiana. Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the 
life of a distinguished physician, civil rights activist, and war

[[Page 16985]]

hero, Dr. Roland Chamblee of South Bend, Indiana. Sadly, Dr. Chamblee 
passed away on September 23, 2010 at the age of 86. Dr. Chamblee was 
born on November 23, 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia. He served in World War 
II, achieved the rank of First Lieutenant with the Army Corps of 
Engineers in the European Theater of Operations, and received a Purple 
Heart for injuries suffered while disarming landmines in Normandy. Upon 
his return to the United States, Dr. Chamblee completed a Bachelor of 
Science degree from Tennessee State University and a PhD from Meharry 
Medical College.
   In 1953, Dr. Chamblee, his first wife, Dorothy, and the first three 
of their six children moved to South Bend where he interned at St. 
Joseph Hospital. He established a medical practice one year later, 
becoming one of just a few African American doctors in the city. He 
went on to deliver several generations of babies, care for thousands of 
patients and dedicate himself to making health care available to all. 
He and Dorothy raised six children: Michaele, Daryl, Roland Jr., Alan, 
Marquita, and Ruth. Dorothy passed away in 1995. He is survived by his 
second wife, Donna, whom he married in 2003, his six children, two step 
children, 14 grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
   Dr. Chamblee was a tireless champion for civil rights, served as the 
local president of the NAACP, Urban League, and United Negro Council, 
and attended the 1963 March on Washington. His devotion to human rights 
led him to take his wife and two youngest children to Uganda in 1972, 
where he provided health care for villagers, many of whom were 
impressed by the doctor who would actually touch them, despite the risk 
of contracting their diseases. He continued serving the poor when he 
returned to South Bend, becoming the co-founder and medical director of 
the Chapin Street Clinic, which provides health care to the uninsured.
   Dr. Chamblee continued to promote public health as the director of 
the St. Joseph County Health Department. He has served on the boards of 
St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Indiana University South Bend Board 
of Advisors, and Catholic Social Service, received an honorary doctoral 
degree from the University of Notre Dame, and was appointed by Pope 
Paul VI as a member of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of St. 
Gregory the Great, in recognition of his good character and notable 
accomplishments. He is the recipient of too many awards to count, 
having worked with numerous professional, service-related, and human 
rights organizations.
   Despite his many professional successes, he considered his greatest 
accomplishment to be his children. His son, Judge Roland Chamblee Jr., 
noted that no matter how late he worked due to his service to others, 
the family always ate dinner together. He will be dearly missed by his 
family and all whose lives were touched by his friendliness, his 
generosity, and his devotion to fairness and unity. It is with great 
pride and honor that I enter Dr. Roland Chamblee's name into the United 
States Congressional Record.

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