Dr. Joseph Strite

Joseph Ogilby Strite, M.D., 88, passed away on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at Chambersburg Hospital in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He was born on February 12, 1925 in Chambersburg to Edwin and Ellen (Cooke) Strite.
Dr. Strite grew up in Chambersburg. He graduated from Chambersburg High School in 1942, where he played the trumpet in the Rhythm Kids dance band. After high school he attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, but interrupted his studies to enlist in the Army in June 1943. He served as a medic in the Philippines and Japan with 188th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, and received his honorable discharge in 1946. He received the Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
Dr. Strite returned to Dickinson College and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1948. After receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia in 1952, he served his internship at Harrisburg Hospital. He began general practice in Shippensburg in 1953 and served there as a family doctor until deciding to become a psychiatrist in 1962. After completing his psychiatric residency at Warren State Hospital in Warren, PA, in 1965, he returned to Shippensburg and worked at Harrisburg State Hospital. From 1966 to 1981 he was the director of the Cumberland Valley Mental Health Center, receiving his certification in psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1969. He also served as Medical Staff President and member of the Board of Directors at Chambersburg Hospital. After five years in private practice, he returned to Harrisburg State Hospital until 1992. During this period he also served as consultant to the Roxbury Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Shippensburg. In 1992 he became director of South Mountain Restoration Center, where he remained until his retirement in January 1999. He was a member of the American Medical Association, and was a Life Fellow of both the American Psychiatric Association and the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Strite married Nancy Smetzer of Chambersburg in 1984. They were happily married for 29 years. He was a member the Shippensburg Town Band (including Blaskapelle German Band and Jazz Band), the Honor Guard of VFW Post 1599, American Legion, Elks club, Marine Corps League, the Ski Liberty Courtesy Team, Conococheague Audubon Society, and he tended bluebird houses as a DCNR volunteer in Caledonia State Park. In addition to music, he enjoyed traveling, skiing, bird watching, SCUBA diving, underwater photography, cycling, and sky diving.
Dr. Strite was preceded in death by his first wife, Lois Snyder Strite, and his siblings, Edwin D. Strite, Jr. and Jane Strite Nelson.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy Smetzer Strite; his children (with his first wife, Lois), Sharon Strite Hickey of Wayne, Pennsylvania, Joan Strite Healy of Concord, Massachusetts, and William Grant Strite of Cincinnati, Ohio; and his grandchildren Caroline Healy, Conor Healy, Allison Hickey, Joseph Strite, Brenna Healy, and Sarah Strite.
A celebration of Joe’s life will be held at 3:00pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013 in the Chapel of Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA. Rev. Fr. Joseph C. Carolin will officiate with Rev. Alan C. Witter assisting. Following the service, members of the Charles Nitterhouse VFW Post 1599 Honor Guard will conduct military honors. The family will be receiving friends and relatives at the funeral home from 6:00-8:00pm on Friday, March 15, and one hour prior to the service on Saturday.
Memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, Kansas 66675 (www.woundedwarriorproject.org)
or The Salvation Army 159 Lincoln Way West Chambersburg, PA 17201.