Dr. Blair Dillard Erb

Blair Dillard Erb MD, loving husband, father and grandfather, respected physician, adventurer, gifted storyteller and thinker, passed away on September 25, 2021, at the age of 90 in Heber City, Utah.

He was born to Harley Ellsworth Erb II and Louise Dillard Erb on November 23, 1930, in Bristol, Virginia. The youngest of two sons, he was raised in Memphis, Tennessee as a depression-era baby where he was taught the value of money, a strong work ethic, and the etiquette of a Southern gentleman. He excelled academically at an early age and was well rounded by his participation in sports, student government and in the Boy Scouts where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He decided in high school that medicine was his career choice. Focused and determined, he attended The University of Tennessee Knoxville which offered, in conjunction with The University of Tennessee College of Medicine, an accelerated path to an MD degree. By continuing coursework through the summers, he was able to obtain his undergraduate degree and MD degree in 5 years.

He managed to take a few breaks from the books and during a visit to his ancestral home in Salem, Virginia, he met the love of his life, Sarah Lee Smith (Sally) at a neighborhood taffy pull. Smitten at first sight, a long-distance relationship followed mainly by mail correspondence and occasional train rides between Memphis and Dallas where she was a student at SMU. They were married on June 20, 1953.

After a general internship, Blair entered active duty in the US Air Force as a flight surgeon where he was assigned to Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He loved aviation and took every opportunity he could to fly with his fellow servicemen. It was in Colorado that he and Sally cemented their love of the outdoors and wilderness adventure. They camped on the banks of the Taylor River above Almont where Blair honed his fishing skills and skied at Cooper Hill on surplus wooden skis from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Sally taught summer school at Colorado College- now the alma mater of two of their children and two grandchildren.

After having their first child in Colorado Springs, they moved backed to Memphis where Blair completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in Cardiology at UT. Upon completion of his training in 1960, he accepted a position at the Jackson Clinic in Jackson, Tennessee where he practiced for 33 years.
Blair’s passion for medicine and serving others was palpable. He considered himself lucky to have practiced medicine in a bygone era. He was an astute, devoted, and compassionate physician. He would often take one of his children with him to work, whether it was on house calls in the 60s, rounding in the hospital, or dictating in the clinic. He loved his patients and they revered him. It was not uncommon for a bag of home picked vegetables or a pound cake to show up on his front doorstep from a patient he never charged.

Blair was not content just practicing medicine but was involved in numerous medical organizations and lectured around the state and country. He served as the governor for the Tennessee chapter of the American College of Physicians and served on writing committees for the American Heart Association. His interest in cardiac rehabilitation and exercise physiology made him a national expert. Combining his interest in the outdoors and medicine, he served as the fourth president of The Wilderness Medical Society, probably his most rewarding and enjoyable professional endeavor. All of these contributions led to his most significant recognition, an invitation to membership and designation as a Fellow in The Explorers Club.

Blair and Sally had 3 children. They introduced them early to their favorite part of the country with yearly summer camping excursions to Colorado. Probably one of the most memorable adventures was a 3-month sabbatical he took in 1970, relocating his family to the Gunnison area in an Airstream trailer and embarking on daily regional camping, hiking and fishing outings. The trip concluded with Blair and his eldest son summiting Mt. Rainier in Washington.

He lost his love and sustaining force Sally in 1998 after 45 years of marriage, a loss that weighed heavily on him for the rest of his life. He persevered, however, and developed many new friendships and devoted much of his time to his grandchildren. He briefly lived in Grand Junction, Colorado but eventually relocated to Townsend, Tennessee on a beautiful property at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was there that he found peace and spent time with his junior high school friend, Ann Rollow Ross and slowly built his personal library, a collection of over 4000 volumes, with which he was so enamored. His final years were spent in Heber City, Utah near his caring and loving daughter at Spring Gardens where he enjoyed the company of many wonderful friends.

Blair was guided by his Presbyterian faith which began in early childhood and remained a constant influence throughout his life. One of his favorite ceremonies was the Kirkin’ O’ the Tartans, a celebration of the Scottish Presbyterian heritage based on the blessing of tartans which includes a procession of participants dressed in kilts and accompanied by bagpipes.

Blair was the utmost gentleman and a constant dreamer. He always had a story to tell or a lesson to give. He loved life, he loved conversation and most of all he loved his wife, children and grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends. His family would like to thank the staff at Spring Gardens for their unwavering kindness and wonderful care they afforded him over the past few years.

He is preceded in death by his wife Sarah Lee Erb and brother Harley E. Erb III and leaves behind children Blair D. Erb, Jr MD (Elizabeth), Mary Lou Layton (Brent), Roy E. Erb MD (Susan) and eight grandchildren: Sarah Beth, Mary Kate, Lauren, Brent Thomas, Emily, Lindsey, Sarah Megan, and Watts.

A private memorial will be held on Oct 7, 2021, at 9:30 AM at Salem Presbyterian Church, 41 East Main Street, Salem, VA 24153 followed by burial at Evergreen Burial Park, 1307 Summit Ave SW, Roanoke, VA, 24015. Funeral arrangements are provided by John M. Oakey and Son Funeral Home and Crematory www.johnmoakey.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The Wilderness Medical Society, https://wms.org/about/donations.asp, or Friends of the Smokies, www.friendsofthesmokies.org.