Dora Belle Petry

Dora was born in Ohio as was her husband, David A. Petry. She and David were married 8/1/1900 in Preble Co., OH. They moved to Selbyville, Delaware sometime between 1910 and 1920. While in Selbyville, he was a high school teacher. In 1930’s and 1940’s they lived in Felton where he was the Felton High School Principal for 15 years. They had one child, a daughter, Volta ‘Lucile’ Petry, born in 1902. She graduated from Selbyville High School and then the University of Delaware in 1924 with a double major in chemistry and English. In 1943 she was the founding director of the Cadet Nurse Corps and first woman and first nurse to be appointed as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service. She lived to the age of 97 (1999) and there were no survivors. Her parents, Dora and David are buried in Red Men’s Cemetery, Selbyville, DE. Dora died in 1956 and David died in 1957. Dora was a charter member of the Felton Community Fire Company Auxiliary and the 1932-1934 president of the Avon Club of Felton. This web site article was prepared by Sandy Wood. I was unable to find an obituary for Dora, but did find interesting information using Ancestry.com, Find-A-Grave and Avon Club of Felton archives. Lawrence Kates, a life and 50+ year FCFC member, spoke very kindly of Mrs. Petry as he remembered her when Mr. Petry was the Felton School principal. Occasionally he and other classmates were guests at the Petry home. When I showed him the article on Lucile Petry Leone (with photo), he thought she really favored her mother. This article was prepared on June 23, 2015.